Billy-Boy
by I'maMePanda
Summary: "The Kids", "Lynn's Brats", and "Those Fricking Stoners", are just some of the names they've earned for themselves in their small town. The Kids don't care-they might be mostly in their twenties now, and grown, but all they need is each other. They take care of their own. When your friends are your family how much say do they have in how you live? As Billy finds out-a lot. Spanking
1. Billy-Boy, Oh Billy-Boy

A/N: So there have been many changes made to this story in the past month I haven't been updating. Most of them start in **chapter seven, which is a whole new chapter** but there are a few significant details dropped in chapter five that were not there before...As always I hope you enjoy the story.

Warning: Contains discipline, including spanking, of young adults by older family members.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

The group of not quite grown-ups sat sprawled around the floor in the half-packed bedroom, tired and sore from the day. Boxes in various states of fullness scattered about the room, light patches of paint scattered on the wall showing where posters had been removed. The only furniture left in the room was a stripped bed, and an oversized bean bag chair.

"Damn," Rick said, from his spot on the bare mattress, "I can't believe you're actually moving out, kid." He grinned across the room at the 20 year old sprawled on the window-seat, occupied rolling up a joint.

"Fuck you Rick," Brent said good-naturedly, shooting his brother-in-law the bird without looking up, "You've been telling me to move out since I was sixteen."

"Well…yes, but I was joking."

"You just want second hit," teased Cammy, from where her lanky body was cuddled into Brent's knee. At 17 (or as she kept insisting, "Nearly 18!" It was starting to get seriously annoying. Honestly, Rick was considering investing in duct-tape.), she was the baby of the family, and had been hyper pretty much since Brent had signed his apartments lease.

"Maybe," Rick grinned at her. Truthfully he was finding it hard to believe Brent was moving out, hell, he was finding it a bit hard to believe that Brent was twenty. Part of him still expected to see a hyper little kid with a gigantic mop of blond hair every time he looked at him. Well, he turned to regard the younger boy again, the hair hadn't changed much, but the rest of him sure had. Brent was taller than him now, though not as broad. He might give him a run for his money in a couple of years, if he kept filling out the way he had.

His grin faded as he looked over to the left of Brent, at a skinny red-headed kid who was seemingly occupied staring at the wall and chewing rapidly on his fingernails. Billy was beginning to worry him. Rick had been expecting him to be conspiring with Brent on what they could get up to in his new, mostly unsupervised apartment-and/or jokingly threatening to kick his ass if he took his little sister there for the "alone time" Brent and Cammy had been whispering about for hours.

Instead Billy had been quiet and distant-the quiet wasn't that unusual, the distant was. He was completely zoned out at the moment, not even listening to the conversations around him like he usually did if he wasn't in the mood to talk. Honestly, he'd been acting off most of the day; Rick had even caught him feeding most of his lunch to the dog. He had figured he'd perk up when the work was over, but no such luck. "Aye! Billy, you don't look so good dude. You should have Momma Lynn look you over when she gets home, man."

Billy looked up and smiled faintly, not really meeting Rick's eyes, "I'm just a little out of it today man. I think I need some air." He stood up abruptly and walked rapidly out of the room, almost slamming into Alexis and Lily, the last of their little group, walking in as he left. Rick stared after him concerned, and when he looked away he saw that Cammy was chewing on her lip as she turned back from looking after her brother.

Alexis glared mildly after Billy, complaining, "What's his problem?" as she crossed the room and lowered herself down on to the beanbag chair. She tugged her beanie down further over her dark hair, and crossed her arms over her chest, still glaring at where Billy had been.

Lily, the older of the two walked over and plopped down sideways in Rick's lap, "oof, Babe, be careful," he complained, "and yeah, Lexi he's been acting real weird." He caught Lily's eye and frowned to show he was actually worried. Lily's brow wrinkled in concern, and she nodded slightly after a moment of thought-yeah, he'd seemed off to her too. Billy was generally a resilient kid-which meant if there was something wrong he probably wouldn't tell them.

Brent snorted, "He's always weird. He's 19 and he likes Simple Plan."

His sister shot him a scathing look, "You used to listen to Chumba Wumba."

"I was twelve! And they aren't that bad."

"They're called _Chumba Wumba_." Lily's face clearly stated that this alone won the argument. To be fair, Brent's choice in music had not improved much over the years. Everyone knew he still had all the Chumba Wumba cd's from when he was a kid, and listened to them when he thought no one could hear.

"Lily, be nice." Rick said snorting in amusement.

"Besides!" Brent half-shouted, clearly embarrassed about the Chumba Wumba thing, "I'm not the one who used to pretend I was married to one of the backstreet boys!"

Rick grabbed onto Lily as she attempted to launch herself across the room at her little brother, "Hey! Don't elbow me, I didn't say it!" He pointed at Brent, "Knock it off or I'll let her go!"

Brent snorted, "Which one was it again? Oh yes, AJ McClain, 'I'll be Mrs. McClain someday, I will!'" He looked at the ceiling, hands tucked under his chin, pretending to swoon. Lily growled as he continued, "We'll have twins, and name them A.J and Lily Jr., and-"

"Warned ya," Rick said as Lily flew across the room at her brother, Cammy giggling as she scooted out of target range.

"Shit, shit," shouted Brent as she dove on top of him, "Ah! Quit pinching! The weed! Pause for the cause! It's gonna fall, and go everywhere and you're gonna owe me 20 bucks!"

Lily obediently paused, snatched up the magazine beside Brent that had the joint, shake and papers on it, and carefully handed it off to Alexis, who was laughing too hard to talk.

She then looked back at her brother who had used the brief break to catch his breath and was now trying to slide to the other side of the window seat. Lily grinned and said two words, "Wedgie Time."

As Brent began making protest noises, Rick stood up, causing Lily to crow as she jumped on top of Brent again, knowing he wouldn't hit her to get her off him, not hard enough to hurt anyway, "C'mon Rick, help me get him."

As Rick approached Brent started to beg, only to sigh with relief when instead of helping Lily, he bodily pulled her off her brother, and laughing, carried a pouting Lily back to lay down with him.

"I finished rolling the joint," Alexis teased holding it out towards Brent and snatching it away, "that means I get to light it!" she sing-songed at him, sticking out her tongue.

"Hey, no fair, I did all the hard work." Brent complained, "All you did was pack it and put in a crutch."

"House rules." She said smugly.

"Lexi, give it back," scolded Lily, knowing the two could go back and forth forever.

The girl rolled her eyes, put passed it back, "I was just teasing."

"Sure you were, Lexus." Rick grinned, "It's a big joint, over a gram, it'll go around, I promise."

"Quit calling me Lexus!" as usual this request wasn't even acknowledged. Alexis hadn't really expected it to be, but she still scowled a bit. "Do I look like a car?"

"Yes." returned Brent, utterly deadpan. Lexi stuck out her tongue at him.

"Should we get Billy?" Cammy looked unusually hesitant, chewing nervously on a strand of red-blonde hair.

"He walked out of roto himself," Rick shrugged his shoulders, from where he lay sideways behind Lily on the bed, playing with her curls. "Up to you guys I guess."

"He just went outside right?" Lily motioned to the open window, "Somebody go and call for him." She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, "Does anyone else think he might be sick or something? He's really pale, and when we came in it was almost like he didn't even see me or Lexi."

Alexis nodded, "Yeah, he has dark circles under his eyes too, he could be coming down with something." She frowned quietly to herself for a moment, before shrugging, "Or maybe Brent's right and he's just weird."

As everyone else snorted, or rolled their eyes, Cammy frowned and curled closer to Brent's leg. Picking up on her body language, Brent nudged her gently, "Something really wrong with Billy, or something, sweets?"

She sighed, looking down, "I don't know if I should say anything." Since ordinarily Cammy couldn't keep her mouth shut, this got everyone's attention. Brent could tell just how tense she was, and found himself getting worried. Billy and him might tease the hell out of each other, and get on each other's nerves constantly, but he was also the one Brent got into trouble with, and who he could call at two in the morning, who always had his back. His best friend. His brother, really.

"Shit…he was acting weird, wasn't he?" said Lexi, glancing at the window as though it would tell her what was going on.

Rick shifted upright from where he'd been snuggling with Lily, honey colored eyes fixing seriously on Cammy, "He get himself in some trouble or something? He was acting kinda strange all day-nervous and twitchy."

Cammy just shook her head, still looking down, and Rick and Brent exchanged looks, as Lily studied Cammy thoughtfully, the concerned frown growing deeper on her face. If she looked back at Billy's behavior over the last few months, and compared it to Cammy's…she was starting to see a pattern she didn't really want to see.

"Look," Rick said, in what at more joking times the kids referred to as his "Dad" voice, the one he'd totally copied off their Uncle Gav, "If he's done something stupid, yeah I might kick his ass, but I'll also help him."

After a minute of Rick staring patiently Cammy finally spoke up, "I don't know anything; he's just been acting weird. He's been leaving the house at weird times, like three in the morning. He made our mom cry yesterday." She sounded kind of angry now, "She just asked him where he was going, which okay, she ordinarily doesn't bother, but still, and he completely blew up!"

"What? Your mom's like, well, your mom, he can't talk to her like that! I mean, maybe she's not the nicest lady in the world, but still!" Brent snapped, half standing up. Cammy secretly thought that was more than a little bit of a gross understatement but didn't say anything; she could not however suppress the snort that popped out. She pretended not to notice as Lexi shot her eyes in her direction, concerned. "I should kick his ass."

"Sit down and shut-up," Rick said, eying Brent seriously, "You aren't kicking anybody's ass, and Billy is half your weight anyway."

"But-"

"I said sit."

"Fine!" Brent sat again, but his body language made it clear he was _not _happy about it.

"Can we please, just smoke the joint and try to have some fun? Please?" Cammy said, "I'll talk about it later, I swear, just not now. This is supposed to be fun, remember?" She leaned her head against Brent's knee again, and smiled wanly.

"Yeah baby, fun." said Brent, kissing the top of her head, though his face still betrayed his annoyance.

"We'll all talk to him later, trust me." Lily's eyes were narrowed in thought. Added all together she was starting to get a picture she did not like. Billy had been entirely too quiet lately…

"Whatever." Brent mumbled around the end of the joint, lighting it and slowly inhaling. He smiled slightly as he exhaled, "I guess things could always be worse right?"

Rick nodded, "We'll figure out what's wrong with him, and like I said," here he gave Brent a determined look, "If he needs his ass whupped, _I'll_ deal with it."

Brent rolled his eyes, and waved his hand in agreement, coughing lightly as he held in the smoke from his second hit, passing the joint down to Cammy leaning on his knee. "Okay, okay, I get it." He grinned sarcastically, "You're the grown-up."

Rick met his eyes and nodded seriously, "Damn straight." He tried to stay straight-faced as he eyed Brent but couldn't, snickering as he finished, "Me and Lily are the grown-ups, and you brats are the kids." The "kids" let out a resounding chorus of boos, and someone (Rick's money was on Alexis) nailed him in the forehead with a balled up piece of paper.

As he moved to retaliate, Lily jabbed him lightly with an elbow, and proffered the joint when he turned to her. "It's burning, Mister Grown-Up." Rick dropped the paper with a groan, and took the joint.

As he took his last puff and passed it to Lexi, smoke still filling his lungs, he pointed around the room with his other hand, "Just remember, I will always be able to kick all of your asses, and no matter how big you get I will always be bigger," Everyone laughed, rolling their eyes and snorting, and Rick grinned in satisfaction, "Oh, I almost forgot, I'm also smarter, and better looking than all of you. And I always will be. Yep." As the pillows he could have sworn were packed began bombarding him Rick laughed and hoped they hadn't burned the carpet, because he had _no_ idea where that joint ended up.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy paced up and down and down and up the cul-de-sac where it seemed he'd spent most of the past eleven years. Playing in the street itself; or at Momma Lyn's with Brent and Lily, and the rest. There was even a little forest area in the back of the cul-de-sac with a creek and a few well-worn paths, and if you went far enough, it connected with the real forest-underbrush so thick and wild you practically had to climb over it, filled with hills and cliffs, and little valley pockets. They'd found a clearing once where almost all the trees were dead-and ferns covered every last inch of them, even up on the tops. If you hopped a few fences you could get there right from the backyard. He'd lost a shoe in the creek once.

If he went down to the woods he'd have privacy-and the neighbors would quit looking at him funny. He knew he looked sketchy, he didn't need gossipy old Mr. Monroe peering at him from his front window to tell him. Billy couldn't help it, he _had _to move. If he'd stayed in the house any longer he would have screamed, and it didn't help that his mind was getting sleepy now even if his body wasn't.

But part of Billy didn't want to go down to the creek, where he would have privacy to smoke something none of his friends would approve of. Part of him wanted to go right back inside and march up to everyone and empty his pockets-show them the dodi and small bag of white crystals-and just wait and see what they would do about it. They would do _something-_Rick would if no one else.

Billy knew he never would-knew he didn't have the guts too. It had been so long now he'd kept his secret. But the wanting kept him from going to the creek and at the moment that was good enough.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn Jacobsen stood with her arms crossed over her nurse's scrubs, peering from her driveway to the rapidly pacing boy in the road in front of her. She wasn't sure what he thought he was doing, but it was plain there was something _wrong _about the young man she viewed as her own son. Billy hadn't even looked over when she'd driven into the cul-de-sac, and she'd waved and honked. She thought for a moment longer, nodded decisively, and scooping the bag of Chinese take-out off the hood of her car, turned towards the house. There was a time to delegate and a time to do things yourself, and Lynn prided herself on knowing when to do each.

She had the feeling it wasn't a mothers' touchBilly needed at the moment.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick walked out of the house, expecting to see Billy, who from the sounds of it was having some kind of nervous breakdown, still pacing in the middle of the road. His brow furrowed when the kid wasn't there. He glanced up and down the cul-de-sac looking for anything he might have missed, before heading off towards the creek with a shrug. It seemed the most likely place for Billy to go if he was upset.

He wasn't sure what was going on, but Rick was starting to get seriously worried. After getting his ass kicked by a bunch of pillows, he'd sat and caught his breath, and found his mind drifting back to Billy. As he thought he realized that it wasn't just today Billy had been acting off, it had been going on for a while now, at least a few weeks, probably longer. Mostly it was little things; that seemed harmless by themselves. It wasn't until he thought about them together, that he began to understand this might be serious. Added into what Cammy had said about him leaving the house at 3am and other random times, and the random outbursts of anger, and it was shaping up to be something fairly big.

Sure, plenty of nineteen year olds come in late, but how many go _out_ at three in the morning?

Over the last few years, Billy had occasionally gone into weird moods, which generally resulted in him not showing up at the house for a few days, once for a week, seemingly over whatever had been bothering him. If he stayed gone longer, Uncle Gav or Rick would go hunt him down, or send in Mister Theo, who was always able to find Billy when they couldn't.

Rick had always put it down to hormonal mood swings, or maybe family problems, but he rarely pushed. For as close as they all were, Billy could be an immensely private kid. Rick had always assumed though, that if something were really wrong, Billy would come to him. He thought the kid knew that when they talked about being a family, when Rick called him his kid brother, it was for real.

But now it seemed like something _was_ really wrong and Billy hadn't come to him.

Rick had been rather focused on Lily lately, he knew. Maybe too focused on Lily. They were planning their wedding, and had been talking about buying the house they were renting, but he knew that wasn't really an excuse. He was kicking himself for not paying more attention to Billy sooner, for not noticing. If Billy wouldn't come to him, then it was _his_ job to go to Billy. He ducked under a hanging branch as he entered the wooded area, and turned down the twisty path that led to the creek. Rick wasn't trying to be particularly quiet, but he supposed he must have been, because he saw Billy before Billy saw him.

What he saw made his blood boil.

He charged forward and without thinking twice grabbed the glass bulb from between the startled boy's lips. Rick felt himself shaking with emotion, he didn't even care that the heated end of the pipe was blistering his fingers. He stared hard at Billy who stumbled back a pace, shocked and scared.

"I…Rick…" Billy faltered, at a loss for words and truly terrified as Rick took a step towards him, still staring right in his eyes. He wanted to run, but Billy was certain that would not end well. Still, his eyes darted from side to side, almost involuntarily, looking for escape routes. Rick saw this and shook his head slowly.

"Do. Not. Even. Think. About. It." Each word was enunciated fully as he took another step forward directly into Billy's personal space, who was now fairly convinced he was about to die.

"How long?" Rick ground out, leaving Billy to stare at him in confusion, either too high or too cowed to think properly.

"What?"

"Don't give me that shit!" Rick flung the dodi to the earth beside them, hot glass exploding and showering their feet, "How long have you been fucking tweaking Billy?" Rick glared as Billy looked everywhere but at him. "Billy!"

"Four months." Billy squeaked out, still not meeting Rick's eyes, "I mean I'd tried it before then, of course, but that's when I started doing it a lot."

Rick was still trying to make sense of that "of course", because, seriously, _what the fuck_, when Billy spoke up again "What-what are you going to do? Are you gonna tell? I-uh, I mean…" Billy trailed off, rubbing at the back of his head, and biting his lip.

Rick thought to himself for a moment longer before answering, almost not believing the words that were coming out of his own mouth, "I'm not sure of everything that's gonna happen, but I do know I'm gonna whup your ass. When I'm done you aren't ever gonna do something this stupid again. You know how I feel about fucking meth, kid." Before Billy could ask what that meant, Rick had a tight grip on his upper arm and was using it to propel him over to a fallen log a little farther down the side of the creek bed. When Rick set down on the log and tugged Billy to the side of him he was utterly baffled.

It wasn't until Rick had yanked him over his lap and clamped an arm around his middle that he realized Rick had been being _literal_.

"What the-Rick are you fucking spanking me man?" Rick found himself fighting a snort at the absolute disbelief in Billy's voice. It was all very surreal and for a second he felt ridiculous, but as he let his eyes drift over to the shards of broken meth pipe, he concluded that it was also very necessary.

"Yeah, Billy-boy, I guess I am." With that he raised his right hand and let it fall with a resounding WHAP square in the center of the younger man's ass. Billy squawked a bit in surprise, but didn't fight him-as he let his hand fall again Rick hoped that meant he'd made the right choice.

"I can't say I'd ever expected it to happen before today, but I can tell you now, if you ever touch meth again this is what will happen _every time_." Rick swatted lower and from side to side as he spoke, smacking particularly hard on his last two words. He continued peppering the younger man's backside, and was surprised when Billy didn't protest except to squirm and try to shift his backside away.

Billy bit back a groan as Rick concentrated on the very top of his right thigh for a moment, trying to ignore the building sting and heat, before blurting out, "Okay I get it, I fucked up! I'm sorry, it's enou-gh!" His voice broke on the last word, and angry as he was, Rick felt like utter shit. It wasn't like he _wanted _to make the kid cry-but he also didn't think it was enough. This wasn't a gray area-he got on the kids asses if they smoked weed more than a few times a week. Billy damn well _knew better._

"Nope, Billy, it's not. I'm glad you're sorry, but you're right," Rick paused as he concentrated on laying a series of smacks along the crown of Billy's ass, making Billy drum his feet into the ground. "You _seriously_ fucked up. It's not like this was the first time either. Four _months!" _Rick felt his temper rise again as he thought about how long Billy had been putting what amounted to poison into his body, and he pulled his brother tighter to him, his hand cracked down harder than it had yet, again and again, all across the crease where Billy's butt and thighs connected.

Billy howled, and was suddenly bucking and kicking, fighting as hard as Rick had expected he would at the beginning, "Please bro!" he wailed snot and tears clogging his voice, "I'm sorrrry! I'm so, so, sorry!" His sobs broke off slightly to teary whimpers as his body slumped, the fight leaving him as quick as it entered, and Rick paused, torn. That had to be enough right? God knew his hand was burning; Billy's ass couldn't be in any better shape. He nodded to himself, moving his hand, now blistered _and _red, to rub gently at Billy's back.

"Alright, buddy, were done. It's gonna be okay, you're okay now. Shh-shh, Billy-boy." If Billy hadn't been crying quite so hard, he might have felt strange comforting a nearly-grown man like a small child, but it was so obvious his brother needed it Rick didn't think twice, just kept his hand steadily going up and down Billy's back, murmuring comforting nonsense.

As Billy's sobs calmed and his breathing became even, Rick levered him up, standing with him, and pulling him into a tight hug. Frankly, Rick needed the hug as well-it had sent a bone deep surge of fear through him when he saw Billy, though anger had definitely taken over. "Never again. I won't stand for it Billy."

Billy tried to answer, and felt his throat clogging and tears filling his eyes again. He settled for nodding his head from where it was pressed into the top of Rick's shoulder. He NEVER wanted that to happen again, and he remembered Rick's promise at the beginning. Billy had been expecting to feel angry this whole time, yet it hadn't happened. He mostly felt relieved he didn't have to lie anymore. He wasn't quite sure whether that should bother him or not, but for the moment he just didn't want to move. His ass hurt like a motherfucker, and he hadn't slept properly, or really much at all, for weeks now.

Mostly, Billy was just glad Rick had bothered with him, hadn't just sent him away in disgust. Rick's arms tightened around him, and he said firmly, "No. That'll never happen. You fuck up again, we'll deal with it again, but you're not going anywhere kid." For a moment Billy's sleep deprived brain seriously considered the possibility that Rick

was a psychic, before realizing he must have spoken out loud.

"I really am, so, so, sorry." Billy's voice was muffled from where his head was still buried in Rick's shoulder, and Rick couldn't help but chuckle as he moved a hand up to ruffle Billy's hair.

"Yeah, I bet you are Billy-boy." Rick pulled back a bit, disentangling them enough so he could look Billy in the eye, but keeping his hands on Billy's shoulders. "Hey," he said when Billy immediately looked down, "Look at me man." Rick nodded approvingly when Billy looked up, feeling the muscles that had tensed when he pulled away relaxing as he did. "We're going to get through this, we'll figure things out, we always do. Through Hell or high water…" He trailed off, waiting for the younger man to complete the sentence.

"We take care of our own." Billy said it quietly, tiredly, and then seemed to slump even more, making Rick tighten his grip on his shoulders for fear he would collapse right in front of him.

"That's right. That never changes, not ever. We still have to have a long talk about this, and decide just how were gonna get you clean. You're going to tell me how all this started, and what the hell you've been doing for the past four months." Who exactly was selling to him would be nice to know too. They lived in a little tiny college town with only about 8,000 people, less than half that on school breaks, and most people would have known better. Rick was generally considered a person not to be fucked with, and this definitely counted as fucking with him in his book. Billy groaned a bit, but nodded, it wasn't like he really had a choice and he knew it.

"That can wait for tomorrow though, we need to head back before they send out a search party. Momma Lynn brought home Chinese food, and you need to eat whether you're hungry or not." Before he could continue Billy was shaking his head, and he stopped, glaring a bit, but letting him speak.

"There is no way I can eat more than a bite or two of anything, you know what that stuff does to your appetite…" He trailed off as Rick's resolute expression didn't change.

"You mean meth? 'Cause that's what you were smoking, not "stuff". That's exactly why you need to eat, you might not feel hungry but I bet your stomach is pretty damn empty right now." Rick sighed as Billy's face showed how anxious he was. "Look, just try all right? It's not like I'm gonna funnel it into your mouth, bro." Rick gently cuffed him on the shoulder, "Come on, they really will send someone to look for us if we don't hurry."

Billy wiped his eyes one more time, just to make sure, and let Rick guide him up the trail-Rick didn't seem to want to let him out of his sight, and Billy supposed he couldn't blame him. It was kind of nice, really.

They were just stepping onto the sidewalk when Billy suddenly turned bright red and halted where he was, making Rick nearly run into him. "What's wrong?"

"Are you gonna tell?" Billy looked at him pleadingly, and Rick grimaced. "Ah, come on man!"

"Look, look," Rick motioned at Billy to calm down, "I'm not gonna tell the brat brigade, or anything, but I'm not gonna lie to Momma Lynn. She's going to ask, she saw you pacing and was worried. I couldn't keep something like this from her anyway. I have to tell her. I won't tell Lily unless she asks, but I can almost guarantee she's going to want me to tell her right along with Momma Lynn. And you know Momma Lynn is going to tell Uncle Gavriil, and Mister Theo." Billy groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"They're going to _kiilll_ me." Rick rolled his eyes at Billy's theatrics, gently shoving him forward.

"I'm pretty sure the worst non-law involved consequence already happened." He shook his head, wondering for the first time if his godmother and girlfriend might not be pleased with how _he'd_ handled things.

"Yeah, about that, my ass hurts." Billy grinned sheepishly at him over his shoulder, letting him know he wasn't mad, and Rick laughed out loud.

"Good. Now, home. March." He pointed forward and Billy rolled his eyes, but walked quickly.

He wondered if he should tell Rick just how long he'd been awake now-he was pretty sure he was starting to see things, unless a bat had really just swooped down in front of them…

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*

*.*

A/N: So what do you think? I would love a review, even if it's only a few words. I am very willing to return the favor!


	2. Now what?

As they entered in the front door, Billy bit back a groan. Well no one had been waiting outside-probably because Momma Lynn hadn't let them-everyone was scattered in the entrance way, leaning on the wall or perched on the stairs. He supposed he should have been glad they were all concerned, but he really, really didn't want to deal with their questions right now.

Rick put a broad hand on his shoulder, and squeezed, "Alright guys, let a man breathe, why don't you?" There was some shuffling and people stepped back, or shifted over, but it was obvious none of them intended to leave. "Momma Lynn and I need to talk, she in her office?" Billy became very aware that he might well be about to be thrown to the wolves, and fought off a wave of nervous agitation.

"Yeah," nodded Alexis, "she wouldn't let us eat till you got back." She turned to Billy, unable to hold back her most immediate question a second longer, "Dude, are you okay?"

Billy blushed as red as his hair and found he couldn't really answer the question-he wasn't okay, but he sure as hell didn't want to tell anyone, and at the same time he was _so_ sick of lying. Rick covered for him again, "Billy will be fine, but no interrogating him, okay? He'll tell you what's up when he wants too." There were nods of agreement, but Billy knew his friends well enough to know it wouldn't last. "Why don't you guys go get the table ready, re-heat the food and all that? We'll be in after a while." He lightly shoved Billy in Brent's direction, and the younger set began to file down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Lily, who had been growing more concerned the whole time they were gone, made a noise of protest and Rick turned to her, "I wasn't sure if you would want to stay with Billy, or come talk to your mom with me." He lowered his voice to continue, running his hand through his hair, "It's pretty bad, Lily. I-" He shook his head, "look, let's just get telling Momma Lynn over with." Lily gaped at him a bit. Rick was known for keeping his cool when others definitely wouldn't, and when he did let his emotions spill over it was generally anger-yet for a second there she had been sure he was about to cry.

"Of course, baby," She stepped to his side and rubbed up and down his arm gently, that seemed to be the signal he could let go and his whole body slumped. Lily started the walk up the stairs to the office, moving her hand to wind around Rick's waist, letting him lean into her. She picked up his hand and entwined it in hers, looking down as he winced a bit, "Rick, how in the world did you blister your fingers?"

"Umm…"

Rick flinched as Momma Lynn gently cleaned his hand, one finger at a time, before putting burn cream and gauze on each one. Lily had insisted on stopping by the bathroom and grabbing the first aid kit, on the grounds that her mother would demand to put something on the blisters anyway.

"So," He continued his story haltingly, "I grabbed the damn thing right out of his mouth. I felt it burning me, but I almost couldn't at the same time." He shook his head and laughed humorlessly, "I got so mad I smashed the damn pipe, but not until I let it burn the shit out of me. He said it's been four months, but he'd tried it before. He said-he said of course he'd tried it before, like its _normal_." Lynn shook her head as she packed away the first-aid kit. Everyone pretended not to notice when she discretely wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I can't believe that boy-though it certainly explains the last few months better. Something your Granddad told me makes a lot more sense now…" Rick and Lily, who hadn't really noticed anything until today, exchanged guilty looks. "What are we going to do? I swear, I ought to tan his hide." She shook her head and tutted to herself, as she snapped the lid closed and looked up again.

"Uh, yeah," Rick scrubbed at the back of his head nervously, barely meeting her eyes, "I kind of already took care of that." Lily's eyes got very wide and Momma Lynn looked at him in confusion, before her mouth dropped slightly.

"You mean…?"

"I spanked him," Rick blushed as both women were now gaping at him open mouthed. "I know!" He defended himself against an imaginary verbal onslaught, "He's way too old, and it's weird, but you guys didn't see him! When I saw him with that pipe-I don't think I've ever been more horrified in my life. He asked me what I was going to do, and next thing I knew he was over my knee!"

To his surprise Momma Lynn was sighing and motioning with her hands for him to calm down, still looking shocked but not particularly upset, "Hey, hey, no one's going to crucify you here." She paused and shook her head for a moment, black curls swirling around her head then settling, seeming to collect herself. "Frankly, he deserved it." Rick felt himself sag a bit in relief; he'd been kind of worried Lynn would kill him.

Lily was giggling, and when he looked at her in bemusement she calmed enough to say through her laughter, "You've been threatening to "whup ass" around here for years, I'm just imagining how the kids would react if they knew it was actually a literal possibility." Momma Lynn seemed to find the humor in this too and began chuckling.

"Can you imagine Brent's face? Lord, I still remember that time he stole your car to impress that Jenny girl." Rick snorted, yeah he still remembered that too, even though it was a few years ago. Luckily for Brent the possibility hadn't really occurred to him at the time.

"Yeah, well he better not pull that shit again, now I know what to do." The grin on his face grew until it truly qualified as shit-eating, and both Lily and Momma Lynn began to laugh outright.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent found himself gritting his teeth as Billy refused _again_ to tell him what was going on. He was just worried, wasn't like he was gonna go all "dad" on him like Rick. He knew they'd been told not to bug him about it, and he might get bitched at himself if he wasn't careful. But…

But…Billy had been crying. He could tell, and yeah they teased Billy about being sensitive, but it wasn't like he cried at the drop of a hat. Brent was worried; he _had_ to figure out what was wrong.

As he looked at Billy, who had retreated to the other side of the kitchen, tapping the counter top in agitation, he thought maybe he was going about it the wrong way though. Brent sighed and rubbed his hand up and down his face, he supposed he couldn't go wrong with an apology and a peace offering. Hesitantly he crossed the room, hands thrust deep into his pockets. His girl shot him a warning look, and Brent fought a wince. Maybe he'd been a little rude to Billy.

Okay, he'd been a dick and he knew it. Billy looked up at him and crossed his arms across his chest. "Hey." Brent waited a second and when Billy didn't respond continued, "It's occurred to me that I've been an ass. Sorry." Billy smiled a bit, and nodded.

"S'okay."

Brent fished for something else to say, and then figured he should cut right to the chase, "It's okay if you're still pissy with me, but do you want to smoke? I've still got some weed left." Billy looked tempted, but shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure we're supposed to stay here, last thing I need is for Rick to be more pissed at me." Billy looked glummer then ever at the end of his proclamation.

"Nah, man he just told us to set the table, and get everything ready. Look," he pointed to the table, "All done. No one's gonna care if we go out to the backyard and take a couple of hits."

"Trust me; I need to toe the line." Seeing Brent's face turn stubborn, Billy wracked his brain for something that would convince him. "Look," Billy lowered his voice, no one knew this story but the three involved and he would prefer it stay that way, "Do you remember when you were thirteen and I was twelve, he caught us with the can of air duster?"

Brent visibly shuddered, yeah he remembered that, although he would prefer it if he didn't. He was surprised his ears weren't still ringing. "That bad, huh?" He grimaced sympathetically; maybe it _was _better if they stayed put.

"Worse, like a _lot_ worse."

Brent's mouth dropped open, "Dude, what did you do?!"

Before Billy could respond-he was considering saying something ridiculous like "Running a prostitution ring" or "kidnapped the President's dog", someone else spoke up, "Excuse me, but weren't you told to let Billy alone about that?" Lynn looked at her son with an eyebrow cocked, waiting for an answer.

"Uh, yes ma'am, but…" Brent trailed off not really sure what to say, before blurting, "He gives tantalizing clues!" Lynn rolled her eyes, satisfied that the boys weren't fighting, and ushered them in front of her towards the table where everyone was gathering, giving Billy's shoulder a quick squeeze as they walked.

"So what were you two talking about?" Rick looked mostly at Brent as he asked, (Alexis had told Brent she would tell on him if he didn't quit bugging Billy…) clearly already having some idea.

Brent answered, because Billy was busy being annoyed he had to sit down; although he was grateful the chairs were padded. "I was just asking if he wanted to smoke a bit, but Billy didn't think it was a good idea."

"'Cause we were about to eat dinner," Billy looked at Rick hopefully, he had been already starting to come down when he'd gone to the creek today, and he'd only gotten a couple of hits before. He was sure to start coming down again tonight-weed would make that a lot easier he'd learned. "Would it be alright afterwards?" Rick nodded, and the group went about dishing themselves up. Alexis and Cammy shared a "what the hell" look as they exchanged broccoli beef for fried rice and vice versa. It wasn't exactly standard to ask permission to smoke weed, sure if someone walked around stoned all day Momma Lynn would bitch, or Rick and Lily would, but smoking a bowl after dinner wasn't exactly on their radar. Plus, Billy had asked Rick, not Lynn. What the hell?

"Alright everyone," Momma Lynn said when all the containers had gone around once, everyone pretending not to notice when Rick had handed Billy back several containers with a pointed look at his mostly empty plate, "Join hands and we'll say grace." There was the usual shifting around, as everyone got ready, and an over eager Brent put down his fork hoping no one had noticed. "Dear Lord, we thank…"

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Are you_ frickin'_ serious?!" Brent hissed at his friend, absolutely unable to comprehend what he'd just said. He regrouped for a second, closing his eyes and shaking his blonde head, "No, you've got to be joking." He laughed a bit in premature relief as Billy looked at him sourly.

"What, do I have to show you my red ass?" Billy grumbled, leaning sideways against the backyard fence, said ass carefully not touching anything.

"No, no," said Brent hastily, putting his hands up as though to fend off the unwanted sight, "That's okay." He shifted on his feet, before asking again. "Seriously, dude?"

"Yes, seriously!"

There was another pause and Brent ventured, "You're probably going to be majorly pissed at me, but you kind of deserved it."

"Fuck you!" Billy snapped, glaring a bit. Then he relented, sighing and said, "Yeah, yeah, I know I did. Don't you bitch at me too."

"Yeah, have you talked to Momma yet? 'Cause I don't think it's really me you have to worry about bitching." Brent's tone was sympathetic, but that didn't stop Billy from groaning.

"Trust me, I know. She's going to kill me. Pass the pipe would you?" Brent handed Billy the bowl and lighter, and he quickly drew in a hit, sucking the smoke deeper into his lungs as he straightened, speaking around it, "Tomorrow I have to sit down and talk to Rick, and I'm sure Momma Lynn, and, oh god, probably Uncle Gavriil too." Billy groaned, "He probably doesn't even know yet."

"At least you don't have to tell him." Brent offered in condolence, shrugging. It was lame, but all he had to offer.

"That's true. That would totally suck. Apparently we're going to come up with some kind of plan "to help me get clean."

"I think Rick already enacted his plan." Brent smiled slyly; laughing as he dodged the swat Billy aimed at his head, and accepted the proffered pipe a moment later. The back door creaked, and both heads swung towards it (It wasn't _that_ long ago they hadn't been allowed to smoke on school nights-Cammy still wasn't), Brent with the pipe sticking comically out of his mouth.

"Hey if you guys aren't done can I get a hit?" It was Rick, actually looking a bit hesitant, hands tucked in his pockets and shoulders hunched in just a bit. Brent nodded, realized he still had the pipe in his mouth when both Billy and Rick looked at him like he was insane, snatched it out, wiped it off and blushing handed it over to Rick who rather than smirking or outright laughing at him, actually looked strangely pale. Brent glanced over at Billy to see if he'd noticed the strangeness, and saw him looking guilty and figured this was something he should ignore.

Because he was Brent however, he had to say _something_ and before he thought better of it he blurted, "So, should I be worried about my ass too?" Rick began to cough on the smoke he was inhaling, as Billy simultaneously turned bright red and burst out laughing.

"Jesus man, I figured you'd avoid that question as long as possible!" Billy gasped out through his laughter, now half bent over and using the fence to keep himself upright. Brent shrugged, laughing lightly himself now, he hadn't really thought before asking, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know-but at the same time, it was pretty important information.

Rick mostly recovered from his coughing fit, glared mildly at Brent, "Dude, don't do that when I'm smoking!" This sent both boys into gales of laughter, Billy so hard it was amazing he was upright. Rick just rolled his eyes, and decided to take another hit while they calmed down-clearly they were stoned enough. It wasn't _that_ funny.

When the boys calmed down, Rick handed Brent the cashed pipe, and looked at him thoughtfully. "I don't know, kid. That really depends on you-I didn't expect to ever actually whup any of your asses, but it happened. I'm still surprised Billy told you." He shot a smile over at Billy, who shrugged at him, before looked back at Brent with a raised eyebrow, "What exactly are you planning on doing you think I might whup you for?"

"Uh-nothing. I just don't like not knowing, man you know that!" Brent shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly. Rick had to admit no one could argue with that. They'd been joking for years that he'd only finished school because he couldn't bear the thought he might miss out on something interesting.

"Uh-huh. Looks like we're gonna go ahead with the movie night, and the girls already picked the first two. Unless you guys want them to go ahead and add Mean Girls as the third choice we better get in there." Without waiting, he turned and headed back inside, the others hurrying after him-they were not watching Mean Girls _again._

Brent however was still not satisfied and piped up again as they were walking in, "What if I drove drunk?"

Rick groaned and rubbed at his forehead, "Brent…"

"Come on! What if-," Brent was chuckling now, thoroughly enjoying himself as he wound Rick up, "Ooo, what if I stole your three wheeler and drove _it _drunk?"

"If you _touch_ my three-wheeler I will hurt you in ways Momma Lynn would wash my mouth out for saying. If you drive it drunk I will kill you and bury your body in the woods." He leveled Brent with a look, and the younger man held up his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture, trying to stop laughing and mostly failing.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll shut up now." He grabbed Billy's shoulder and urged him forward towards the living room.

"If only I were so lucky," Rick mumbled as they pushed past him. He had the feeling Brent was far from done.

Halfway through the second movie (Gone in 60 Seconds-the girls had good taste), Brent was still piping up with the occasional question, to general annoyance. The younger girls had somehow figured out what happened in the woods (Lily thought they must have eavesdropped on her and Momma Lynn-if questioned Lexi would have had to admit that she had "mad ninja skills"). They hadn't said anything, but Cammy had attached herself to her brother like a limpet when he first walked in; not able to decide if she should glare harder at Billy or Rick till Billy had assured her was fine. Alexis had saved Billy a seat on the couch and plopped an extra cushion on it as he went to sit down, passing him the popcorn as he settled.

At first everyone had thought the "What if?" game was hilarious, even offering up a few of their own suggestions. Most of them were ridiculous, such as "What if I stole Mr. Zimmer's horse, put it in a dress, and let it go in the middle of town?" from Alexis. Rick had looked at her appraisingly for a moment, before responding.

"I would give you a damn medal. Not only is that the funniest thing I've heard in a while, it would serve the cranky old bastard right." He turned to Lily and opened his mouth only to be cut off.

"No." Lily put a hand up, "Not happening." The whole room laughed as Rick pouted.

Cammy's "What if I dropped out of school?" had earned a hard look and a "What do you think?" which made everyone but her snicker and declare it the winner so far, if only because it was the only one Rick had taken seriously. Now though, it was getting old.

"What if I robbed a liquor store?" Rick glared at him thoroughly exasperated by now, but Brent just grinned cheekily back.

"If you robbed a liquor store you'd be in jail, genius, 'cause there is no way you'd get away with it. Now shut-up!" snapped Lexi, thoroughly engrossed in the movie, "Who talks through a car chase?" she lamented to the room in general.

"Geeze…" muttered Brent, rather intimidated by her outburst, sinking down the bottom of the couch where he'd been leaning. Cammy patted his knee in sympathy, but had to admit she was pretty glad he'd shut-up. The room stayed quiet until the ending credits and then, as people began to stretch, laying out sleeping bags and pillows for when they inevitably fell asleep during the last movie, Brent decided it was worth asking one final question. He walked over to Rick, who was occupying himself zipping his and Lily's sleeping bags together. Rick looked up at Brent, noticing him there just as he spoke, "So, what if I got fake ID's for Cammy and me and we went to Vegas to party?"

"Dude," called Billy, "I know I'd kick you in the nads for that. Repeatedly!" Brent waved away his protest, and turned back around, startled to find that Rick had stood up and was looking at him with his arms crossed over his chest. Perhaps he should have thought this through better…

"If you don't knock it the hell off, I'm going to decide that what you really want is a demonstration of what would happen if, yes, you did something as crazy as take your _seventeen_ year old girlfriend to Vegas. Do you want a demonstration?" He stared hard at Brent, who took several steps back quickly.

"No, no, I'm good…" Brent backpedaled over towards the doorway, "I'll just go get ready for bed?" He didn't mean for it to come out a question but it did.

"You do that." Rick returned, arms still crossed, as Brent fled up the stairs to his room. Rick turned to the rest of the room, "If anyone senses him about to ask another question later, please gag him with something for the benefit of us all."

"I don't know…" said Lily, "How funny would the results of his asking said question be?" Rick threw his pillow at her.

Billy stared into the bathroom mirror, his normally blue-green eyes looking back at him more gray than anything, as he brushed his teeth. His whole body felt weary and _wrong. _He'd tried to keep it together at dinner, and for hanging out, but he doubted anybody actually bought it. He was still strung out, and didn't feel remotely sleepy, but he looked exhausted and his bones _ached._ He was coming down hard. Billy spat twice into the sink, and stuck his head below the faucet to rinse his mouth. He laid his toothbrush on the counter, and began pulling off his clothes in favor of pajamas.

It was as he kicked his jeans off his feet that, something fell out of his pocket and clattered lightly on the floor. He looked down and found himself staring at the bag of Chrys he'd completely forgotten was in his pocket.

Billy just stopped for a second staring at it with horror. How had he forgotten it? Rick was going to kill him…

Intense longing filled him, an almost overpowering physical sensation. He could flush it…or he could snort some. He suddenly realized he had his fist pressed to his mouth, half sticking out of one side, practically gnawing on it to suppress the wanting coursing through his body. Billy jerked his hand away in self-disgust, he wasn't _that_ weak. No he was going to flush it, that's all there was to it.

The problem was that Billy couldn't seem to make himself move at all, one way or the other. Even as he intended to walk across the small room, he felt himself frozen where he stood. Slowly he made himself take one step closer, then another, only to freeze again when he bent to pick up the bag. A strangled sob grew in his throat, and he viciously shoved it down. He couldn't do it. He literally physically could not bring himself to touch the bag.

"Billy?" Lily's voice called through the door as she knocked. Billy knew he should respond but felt the words stick in his throat, suddenly realizing he was drenched in sweat as a drop dripped down his ear, "Billy? Are you okay, love?" The genuine concern in the person Billy had always considered his big sister's voice did it, and he found himself able to force a few words past the lump in his throat.

"Lily, I…no." The words came out partially strangled, and Billy could hear Lily fiddling with the doorknob, he'd locked it, but crappy as it was she should be able to get it open. Sure enough, after a moment the door popped open, and he heard Lily gasp and then she was on the floor beside his hunched body, one hand rubbing his back firmly, the other clasped to the front of his shoulder in case he lost balance.

"Billy, can you answer me?" Her voice was low and soothing, and Billy found himself leaning into her touch.

"Ye-ah," He managed to stutter out between too-quick breaths, "I'm sorry, I just…" he pointed down to the floor, Lily's eyes following his hand in confusion. "I forgot about it I swear." Lily finally saw the small bag, and her mouth formed a moue of distress, before focusing again on Billy.

"It's okay, I believe you. I'm just going to get rid of it," with deft movement of hands the bag was quickly out of Billy's sight, "I need you to sit all the way down on the floor for a minute, I'll be right here in the room." Lily gently steadied Billy as he sank to the floor, turning him so he could lean on the wall, before reiterating, "I'll be right back, I'm not leaving the room." as she moved to the toilet. He heard the sound of the bag ripping open and then small tinkles as Lily dumped everything in and flushed, his eyes closing involuntarily. Whether it was in relief or disappointment he wasn't sure.

When he opened his eyes it was to Lily handing him a towel. Billy gratefully wiped the drying sweat off his body, before he suddenly realized he was half naked and held it over himself like a blanket. A chuckle deeper than he could expect from Lily hit his ear, and he looked up to see Rick kneeling by his other side holding Billy's pajamas on his lap, a soft look on his face. "You doing okay little man?" He reached up and carded a hand through Billy's sweaty hair, his hand coming to rest on Billy's neck as the boy shrugged at him wanly. "If you want you can take a quick shower, get all that nastiness off of you, or I can just help you up so you can get dressed, it's up to you. Okay?"

Billy felt hollow and weightless after his bodies' strange episode, and mostly just wanted to sit there. Having Lily on one side of him and Rick on the other was incredibly comforting and if he moved that would change. "Buddy?" Rick prompted, squeezing Billy's neck lightly, "You still with me?"

Billy decided that the worry in Rick's voice meant he should probably answer, "Yeah. Shower I guess." In contrast to his words he leaned his body further against the wall and slumped.

"I don't know Rick," Lily muttered just for him to hear, "What if he passes out or slips?"

"I'll stay in here with him, make sure he's okay. If he's real bad I'll just have him leave his boxers on and help him." The hand that wasn't on Billy's neck traveled to his fiancée's knee and squeezed reassuringly, "We'll be just fine." The "you can go" was unsaid but understood. Lily nodded and rose to stand, before bending back down to wrap an arm quickly around Billy and press a kiss to the top of his head.

As Lily left, shutting the door behind her, she heard Rick say, "Alright bro, I'm gonna get the water flowing, get it ready, and then we'll see how steady you are on your feet, okay?" Billy's quiet mumble of acknowledgment, was so drained, so almost lifeless it made her stomach clench.

Upstairs, in her mother's office Rick had said he wanted to find out who had been selling to Billy. At the time the idea had made Lily nervous-they got in enough trouble without looking for it, let alone nosing around dangerous people. Momma had flat out told Rick no, he wasn't going looking for anybody, and Lily had been relieved.

Now she was just hoping Rick would hold the bastard down for her when they found him, so she could kick him in the ribs. She would do anything to never see such a desperate, terrified look on Billy's face ever again.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	3. Do we have to talk about it?

Lynn puttered quietly around the kitchen in her bathrobe, hoping not to wake the kids. They'd stayed up ridiculously late watching movies she knew, and it was only half five. Her schedule had her leaving the house by then most mornings, and even though she'd taken the day off to help Brent finish moving into his apartment, she couldn't seem to sleep any later. Lynn snorted as she thought about Brent's "apartment". It hardly counted really, a tiny little studio in the newest of the three apartment complexes in town-which meant it was a good 15 years old now.

It was in decent shape, but really Lynn wished Brent would stay home for another year, until he could afford something nice. Still, she understood that he needed his privacy and independence, and at least the rent was affordable. They'd see how he handled it anyway. A year ago she would have been expecting a call from the fire department within the first week, but for all his smart mouth he was maturing. And it was within walking distance of the store, and if she knew Gavriil and Theo at all, they would be checking on him.

She settled down at the end of the large table, her mug of coffee loosely clasped between her hands, warming her fingers. The boy she was worried most about at the moment was a very different sort of boy altogether, though she loved him just as much. Billy had always been a bit softer than the other boys-softer than Alexis for that matter. Oh, he was a brave boy, and with the others for friends he wound up being physical whether he liked it or not. It was more that things hit him harder, that he took them more to heart. Sensitive, she supposed, was the word.

Out of all the children, those of her blood, and those who might as well be, Billy was the last one she would have expected such extreme behavior from. He was always so eager to please.

Lynn was also slightly worried that the storm had yet to hit. As far as she knew Billy had yet to show any of the major signs of withdrawal, and from what she had seen last night he was still quite high-pupils far, far wider than they should have been, and he seemed to have a light sheen of sweat appearing and disappearing as the night went on. If he'd been walking around the house like that and she hadn't noticed…well, there would be time for blame later, for now it wouldn't help Billy much at all.

He'd been fidgeting constantly at dinner and just moving more and far quicker than he ordinarily did, tapping his fingers on the table, and feet on the floor. If Billy hadn't been trying so hard not to move, it wouldn't have been quite so obvious, but when someone repeatedly starts and stops the same action it draws attention. He'd also zoned out several times-just staring at nothing, or pulling out his phone (that they were not supposed to use at the table, thank you very much) and getting sucked into the screen for minutes at a time. Lynn had been on the verge of raising her voice, just to get his attention, when Brent had snatched it away, as he'd said, in an effort to keep Billy from facing her wrath.

He should be coming down by now, if he hadn't started to last night, and the process would be anything but fun. They should be prepared for some serious mood swings, if nothing else. Compared to say, heroin, it wouldn't be that hard on his body at all, but it certainly wouldn't be pleasant…

She was pulled out of her mussing's by a tousled head peering a bit apprehensively through the doorway. A tousled head that unfortunately did not appear to have slept at all. "Morning Billy love, come sit down with me." Lynn patted the seat next to hers and then took a sip of coffee. Billy hovered in the doorway for a moment longer, before coming and sinking down into the seat, exhausted head leaning down on the table, "Couldn't sleep?" Lynn's free hand moved to card gently through his hair.

"No ma'am." Billy's words were spoken into the table, and were more of a groan than anything else. Lynn hid a smile and petted him briefly, before withdrawing her hand. Billy looked up to find her staring at him thoughtfully.

He would later claim to have channeled Brent or at least his inability to keep his mouth shut, as "Oh god, we don't have to talk about it _now_ do we?" left his mouth. Billy blanched with horror as his ears caught up to the rest of him. Lynn tried to look at him a bit sternly, but secretly found the idea about equally appealing.

"No, love we don't. But," here she fixed him with a stern look, "we _will_ be talking at length later." Billy nodded but kept quiet, looking more like he'd been told he was dying of cancer, than that he'd earned a talking to. "For now, I was just wondering if you thought you could drink some cocoa? I know you probably aren't hungry for anything solid, but I thought that might tempt you."

Billy looked at her warily for a second-Lynn's cocoa involved real chocolate and heavy cream, and was reserved as a treat. They generally had it at Christmas and birthdays-he'd certainly never heard of it being offered up for a weekday breakfast. He'd kind of thought he was in disgrace…

"You know what, I feel like having some, so I'll make a pot with plenty for all of us okay?" Lynn patted his hand briskly before rising and making herself busy throughout the kitchen, getting out dark and milk chocolate and cinnamon, and all the other "secret" ingredients. Billy watched her silently, feeling overwhelmed. Everyone was being so _nice_. Even Rick, furious as he'd been with him at first, had been very gentle after he'd…well Billy was avoiding thinking about that. His ass was still sore. It's not that he was unused to them being kind to him, but it was like they were all afraid he might break.

Of course, since he felt about as sturdy as broken glass, maybe that was a good thing. As Momma Lynn added spices to the heating milk on the stove, Billy laid his head on the table again, finding the familiar smell consoling. He was so drained now, as though his body had used everything up, but he still wasn't sleepy. Tired yes, sleepy no. He breathed in deeply through his nose, melting chocolate now mixing with the other smells in the air. Billy closed his eyes, slumping further onto the table. He might not be able to sleep, but at least he could relax…

Lynn smiled to herself as Billy's breathing slowly evened out, stirring the steeping cocoa as she moved the setting to low. No need to hurry. She doubted he'd be able to sleep deeply until tonight at the earliest, but a small nap would make this day a lot more bearable.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent and Alexis both pouted at the mug of chocolate clasped in Billy's hand as they entered the kitchen, still clad in sleep-clothes, up far earlier than normal as the smell of cocoa had permeated through the house. They'd tiptoed past Rick and Lily in a heap, cuddled together, and Cammy who was still sleeping, although barely as she'd wound up mostly on top of Brent, and he'd had to ease out from under her. Unlike Rick and Lily, they were still confined to separate sleeping bags, but it didn't make it that much easier. Lynn, seated next to Billy at the table again, rolled her eyes and pointed to the stove and the pot with a ladle sticking out of it, "You know where the mugs are."

All sleepy smiles now the two crossed the kitchen, eagerly filling their own cups with the thick, creamy mixture and coming over to flop at the table. Alexis gave a deep sigh of pleasure, almost a moan really, as she took her first sip, and everyone else smiled and laughed a bit, making the girl blush.

"Hey, I can't help it if that's good, can I?" She joked, and the boys groaned. It was a second before Lexi's mind caught up to the double entendre , and her blush went from a tinge on her cheeks to a tomato red covering her whole face, "Yeah, I think I'm just going to shut-up now."

"I'll take the compliment as it was meant, thank you Lexi." Momma Lynn didn't even try to hide the twinkle in her eye, and the boys outright laughed as Alexis buried her head in the table and mumbled something unintelligible that _might _have been "never talking again. Never, ever."

Lynn stood up from the table, "Well, I've set around long enough this morning. I'm going to go get ready for the day. Make sure you leave enough cocoa for the others, I don't want a riot on my hands." She passed a blurry-faced Cammy on the way out of the room, and pressed a quick kiss to her head, saying, "There's cocoa on the stove."

Cammy, who was rather like a zombie early in the mornings, shuffled slowly over to the table and collapsed in the chair next to Brent, slumping over onto his shoulder without a word. Brent thoroughly amused, and a little more awake now picked up his mug of cocoa and swirled it around by her nose. After a moment her eyes opened slightly, revealing sea-glass green slits, as she peered blearily in front of her.

"Cocoa?" Cammy's hands shut out and grabbed the mug out of a startled Brent's hands. "Gimmee." She stuck the cup right up to her nose, inhaled deeply, took a long drink, and leaned onto Brent again, eyes closed and cup clasped loosely in her hands.

"Awesome." Alexis nodded, "Officially awesome. Cammy burned you while practically asleep!" Billy sniggered quietly, hiding his smile behind his mug when Brent shot them both a dirty look.

"You know, that was kind of my cocoa." Brent smiled at the top of Cammy's head; he thought she was adorable really, but at the same time-cocoa. Cammy hmmed at him, and clutched the cocoa mug tighter, snuggling into his shoulder. "Do you think we could share?" Cammy hmmed again and clumsily thrust the mug closer to Brent, eyes still closed. He rescued it just as it was threatening to slop all over his shirt. "Thanks, Cam."

The kids set there in a comfortable morning fog for nearly half an hour, only interrupted by Brent getting up to refill the mug he and Cammy were sharing. Slightly more alert, but still a rather adorable version of zombie, Cammy spoke up, voice thick and sleepy, "Why did we get cocoa? Did I forget a birthday, or something?"

Brent and Alexis each glanced at Billy, but didn't say anything themselves. He sighed, and said, "I think it was to cheer me up or something, since I face a non-lethal execution squad later."

Cammy stared across at her brother, utterly befuddled for a moment, before she remembered the day before. Still sleepy, and now a bit upset, Cammy glared at him, "Good, 'cause you're kind of an idiot." Lexi hurriedly looked away, busying herself with the last of her cocoa, to give Billy and Cammy some privacy. Brent was still being used partially as a pillow, and was stuck rather awkwardly in the middle.

Billy looked down and nodded, he knew that, he'd known it the whole time, "Yeah." He just sat there for a minute looking at the table, waiting for Cammy to speak again. When she didn't, he looked up to see her worrying her lip between her teeth, trying to blink tears from her eyes, Brent's arm having been transferred to around her shoulders.

"Dammit asshole," Billy nearly flinched before realizing there was no heat in her words, "You're supposed to argue, so I can get all mad and yell. It doesn't work if you just sit there all guilty and quiet." Cammy gave Billy a tremulous smile, which he returned, relieved.

"Sorry."

"Yeah. You still suck." The two smiled at each other for a long moment, before Brent interrupted.

"So, I'm still hungry. Who says we break out the jimmy dean sandwiches before Momma comes down and makes us eat something healthy?" Disentangling from Cammy, Brent clapped his hands briskly, and stood up from the table without waiting for an answer, heading over to the freezer.

"Dude, way to ruin the moment!" called Lexi, chucking her rolled up napkin at the back of his head. Brent flipped her off without turning around and bent down to rummage for breakfast sandwiches.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Lily stretched her arms above her shoulders, rolling the joints as she woke, stretching her legs down next, and wiggling her feet. Ordinarily sleeping on the floor didn't really bother her-she was only 23-but after dismantling and moving Brent's scant amount of furniture yesterday, her body apparently had other plans.

The stretching definitely helped though. She turned her head to the side, locking her gaze onto Rick as he slept. Lily usually loved watching him sleep in the mornings, he always looked so peaceful, but today his forehead was wrinkled, and he seemed tense even as he snored. She rolled onto her side, pressing her body close to his and rubbing her hand gently up and down his arm, a gesture that always soothed him, "Hey sleepy, wake-up." After a few more repetitions, during which his forehead unwrinkled but Rick kept snoring, Lily decided to unleash her secret attack. She snaked one finger up his arm and tickled at the crease of his armpit, knowing just how incredibly ticklish he was there. Sure enough after a few seconds he twitched a bit, and his eyes popped open as an involuntary giggle popped out. Lily's hand was trapped and used to pull her body even farther over so she was laying half on top of Rick, as he sleepily mock glared at her.

"We talked about this…tickling is frickin' evil." Lily just smiled in response, and Rick closed his eyes again leaning further back into his pillow. "Any chance I can go back to sleep?"

"Everyone else has been up for a while, and we do have a bunch of stuff to do." Lily shrugged, tugging on a lock of Rick's honey brown hair curling its way across his forehead, "Also I'm pretty sure I smell cocoa."

Rick groaned and brought a hand up to massage his forehead, "Yeah, I'm not exactly looking forward to the part of the day where I have to talk to Billy." At Lily's raised eyebrow, he amended, "When _we_ have to talk to Billy. You realize he's addicted to the shit right? I don't know what the hell to do. He could wind up like tweaker John, living out of people's garbage cans. It's not like this was a one off, how the fuck are we supposed to help him get clean?"

"It's not going to be easy. Honestly, I don't know either," She said this like a confession, and Rick moved his hand to her cheek, "last night in the bathroom was pretty terrifying. But Momma's a nurse, in case you forgot, so she should have some idea of what he's gonna go through getting it out of his system. We'll figure it out. Billy has us. He will _not_ wind up like tweaker John." Lily shuddered at the idea and leaned her head down so it was resting on Rick's chest, continuing, "By the way, I changed my mind about you tracking down who he got it from-Find the bastard so I can kick in his ribs."

Rick laughed, a deep rumbly sort of chuckle, and pulled Lily all the way on top of him, wrapping his arms around her, "I'll even hold him down for you, baby girl."

"I was counting on it." She shifted a bit to get comfortable, and then smirked knowingly at Rick, shifting a bit more as apparently a certain part of his body rather enjoyed her moving about on top of him. Who knew?

"You shouldn't start something you can't finish in your Momma's house," Rick leered jokingly at Lily and made her start with laughter. She kissed him soundly, but relatively chastely, and pulled back reluctantly.

"Alright, alright, let's get up," She crawled off of Rick, and set on her haunches by him. Rick looked up at her suddenly as though just remembering something; Lily returned his look with confusion.

"Wait, did you say there was cocoa?" She laughed again, grabbing his hand as she stood, pulling him to his feet, and tugging Rick towards the kitchen once he was steady.

"Yeah, and the brats will have drank it all if we don't hurry." Lily tugged on his hand again, and Rick followed laughing.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn sat on her bed, glaring at the clock. There were other members of the family that needed to be informed, and she was not looking forward to it, yet at the same time wanted it over with.

The information should have been shared last night, and the longer Lynn put it off the harder it became.

If her brother could just develop mind reading powers or somehow gain the knowledge through osmosis that would be nice…

At the moment it was too early to call, the store wouldn't open until eight-thirty on Saturday, and Gav often took the phone off the hook when he first came in so his elderly business partner Theodore, who lived above the store, wouldn't be woken. It was the one day of the week they could get him to rest a bit, and Lynn knew he'd had a cold the week before.

Telling Theo, who was her father figure and had been since she was a child, who might as well have been Billy's grandfather, was certainly not high on her list of things she wanted to do either. Waking him up to do so would just be cruel for both of them.

Gavriil would have already left home by now, and he was worse about his cellphone than any of the kids; it was always both off and at home. She'd just have to try the store later…

*.*.*.*.*.*

After gorging themselves on Jimmy Dean and more cocoa, the make-shift family had divided up into two groups. Lynn, Lily, Rick and Billy sequestered themselves in Lynn's study, for what Billy had begun to think of as "The Talk Of Doom". It was like there was a soundtrack in his head chanting "doom, doom, doom, dee-doom". He read too many comic books. As the study door shut behind him he could have sworn it sounded like a million locks clicked, even though there wasn't one at all.

The rest of the kids set about packing up the last of Brent's room, doing their best not to think about it. There wasn't much left, all the big furniture had been loaded into the back of Lily's pick-up the day before, secured and covered up.

At the moment they were taking turns taping full packing boxes shut, and carrying them down stairs to the garage, so they'd be easy to load once the pick-up was empty again. Brent heaved a large one up into his arms, tossing it up a bit once he had it in his hands; to get it settled how he wanted it. "Brent," said Cammy, rolling her eyes, "if you drop it on your foot and break a toe, today is going to really suck for you."

"I know how to lift a box, thank you _very_ much." Brent grumbled. Both girls looked at him in surprise at his shortness; Cammy sticking a hand on her hip as she turned to face him. Brent took one look at her face and decided he would be better off capitulating quickly-and/or running away. "I'm sorry. It's just this not knowing what it going on is pissing me off." Before anyone could do more than nod in acknowledgement, he hurried out into the hallway, heading downstairs.

So he'd chosen the "and" option. Didn't mean he was scared of his girlfriend, no siree, it did not.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy sat on the couch in Lynn's office, staring determinedly at the coffee table, and trying to ignore the sweat beading on the back of his neck. It wasn't the lack of wanting to have this talk-though he certainly wished they could avoid it-that had him clammed up. He honestly didn't know how to start. There was so much they didn't know, and none of it good. The others set in chairs in a semi-circle on the other side of the table, making him feel hemmed in. He couldn't help but notice at least one person he'd been expecting wasn't there…

"Billy, love," said Lynn, with her characteristic, calm, no-nonsense voice, "I know it's going to be hard, but before we can decide how to handle this we really do need to know how this started." Billy nodded, but stayed silent, and Lynn pressed on. "Could you tell us when you first tried meth?"

Billy opened his mouth, and hesitated like he wasn't sure what to say, and then looked down again, as though if he ignored the question it would simply go away.

Lily spoke up, "Billy, any trouble you're in you're already in, anything you tell us isn't going to change that, or make it worse. Or better." Billy had looked up when she spoke, and though her words weren't exactly cheery, he found them reassuring.

Billy nodded slowly, licking his cracked lips, "Okay," he nodded again, "Okay, but you guys have to promise not to freak out." Because that sentence wasn't enough to give you a heart attack. The other three exchanged glances; easier said than done.

"We'll do our best, love. Okay?" Lynn had reached across the table and grabbed Billy's hand, as much to reassure herself as him. She was already "freaking out" on the inside, but she would do her best not to let Billy, or Lily and Rick for that matter, know.

Billy closed his eyes and gulped, squeezing his Momma Lynn's hand tight. Everyone was going to utterly freak out and he knew it… "Sixteen." The whole room dropped into silence, and Billy felt his heart drop as the hand in his went slack. Shit, he had really done it this time. He was too much of a fuck-up, it didn't matter what Rick had said at the creek. His mother already didn't really give a shit about him, she'd made that clear, him and Cammy both, and now he was going to lose this family too. They would send him away, he'd lose everything…

Just as Billy was _sure_ he should have lied, that he really was going to be kicked out, he felt Momma Lynn's arms wrap around him and begin to rock him, clutching him to her like a much younger boy, laying her head on top of his. When he felt her tears touch his head, he thought he must be the most horrible person in the world, because instead of making him sad, his heart swelled.

He wouldn't be sent away. She still loved him.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Momma Lynn cradling Billy to her, murmuring to him. Lily still sat in her chair, legs now pulled up to her chest, and her arms hugging around them, a few drying tears slowly tracking down her face. At the far window, gripping the window sill so tightly he was chipping the paint, stood Rick, glaring out the window trying to get himself under control. He'd thought last night at the creek was the maddest he'd ever been. No. This right now, this was the angriest he'd ever been. But not at Billy.

Oh no.

He was going to find the slimy little cock weasel selling hard drugs to sixteen year old kids-to _his_ kid brother-and he was going to kill them. He was going to _murder _them.

Oh yes.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Well the other's had taken a brief break to decompress, and wash teary faces, Rick stayed glued to the window. When they came back in first Lily, and then Lynn, had tried to get him to come back and sit down, but had eventually given up. Yet as everyone set down, Rick was the first one to speak up.

"Who was it?" His voice was quivering with suppressed emotion, trying to sound calm after how upset Billy had been. The boy hadn't cried, not exactly, but he'd _shook,_ his body shuddering almost like he was sobbing after he'd finally relaxed into Lynn's arms.

"Huh?" Not having expected Rick to talk, Billy was momentarily caught off guard, and shaking his head as though to make sense of the question, said "Uhh…um…"

Doing his best to sound patient actually seemed to be helping Rick _be _patient, and he made himself take another deep breath before asking again, clearer this time, "Who sold meth to you the first time?"

Billy hemmed and hawed for a minute, before finally saying "I can't tell you." Rick turned around, incredulous, as Lynn made a disapproving sound in her throat. Rick decided he'd be more effective closer, and walked back to his chair, still determined to be patient.

"I don't think you are in much of a position to be telling anyone can't right now, young man." Lynn looked seriously down her nose at Billy, and he hung his head, blushing with embarrassment, but resolutely stayed quiet.

"Billy." Rick looked at him steadily and Billy could feel his stare beating on his head until he could ignore it no longer and found himself slowly raising his gaze to lock with Rick's. He'd expected to see anger there, and yes there was definitely some of that, but there was also empathy, and understanding, and something Billy thought meant protectiveness. And love.

_Why_ did they have to know who? Billy _couldn't_tell them. Rick spoke again, "Please, Billy."

Billy shifted agitatedly in his seat for a second, clearly struggling with himself, he even opened his mouth-and then shut it, shaking his head. "I _can't._" No one in the room missed the raw pain in his voice, that it honestly sounded like he wished to tell them, but couldn't, or thought he couldn't, and Rick wanted to scream, because he'd been so, _so_ close. "It was three years ago. Why do we have to go into that? You guys know…well, how bad I fucked up. What does the rest matter?"

It was Rick's turn to speak up now, his face having taken on a grimmer look the longer Billy talked. "You mean besides the fact that you agreed to tell me yesterday? How about, that we are your family and we're worried as all hell about you? That this is a hell of a lot more serious than previously thought?-three years is a sight different than four months, Billy. Is that enough of a damn reason?" His voice rose a bit at the end, and Billy glared at him fully, feeling attacked. Rick felt his patience snap with the defiant look on Billy's face, ignoring the signals from Momma Lynn to back off, and spoke harshly. "Or maybe you want to be a tweaker, is that it?"

"No!" Billy exploded out of his seat, "No, I don't want to be a fucking tweaker! You don't understand!" He glared down at Rick, who not intimidated in the slightest, glared back.

"Then explain it to me." Rick managed not to shout, but his voice came out as a strangled growl instead. This seemed to make Billy even more upset, and he began pacing back and forth in front of the couch, his hands in fists.

"You don't get it! I just-I just can't! You wouldn't understand-" Rick cut him off, standing as he spoke.

"What don't I get? What wouldn't I understand? Just try me, goddammit!" Rick took a step closer, not realizing he was intimidating the younger man, just willing him to understand.

"Back off man! I can't think!" Billy was breathing hard, and Rick, suddenly realizing he was making things worse, started to raise his hands his hands in a peace gesture, preparing to take a step back, when Billy lashed out, shoving Rick square on the shoulders, hard. Rick reeled for a second, and then nearly shoved Billy back instinctually, but stopped himself short. Billy was _scared_, as well as exhausted and coming down off drugs. He forced himself to take a slow step back from Billy, who at least seemed to have shocked himself out of his anger and was now gaping at Rick, the look on his face a mixture of guilty and mortified.

"m'sorry," Billy mumbled, eyes wide in his head, still locked on Rick.

Rick nodded in acknowledgment before speaking, "If you shove me like that again I will swat you. Do you understand?" Billy flushed crimson and grimaced, but nodded. He knew he'd been basically throwing a tantrum, he just hadn't seemed to be able to stop. Rick widened his arms and Billy took the invitation for what it was taking the step forward and letting Rick envelope him in a bear hug. "I got ya bro, I got ya. It's gonna be okay."

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Going to the Walmart and gluing googly eyes on things?" suggested Brent with a thoughtful tone, from where he sat on a box in the garage, after an impromptu circle with the girls in celebration of having finished moving the last of the boxes downstairs.

"No," returned Cammy, with a shake of her head, "We can't leave when we have no idea when the work is starting. That's a good one though," She turned to Lexi on her right, who had acquired a pair of slotted dubstep style sunglasses from somewhere, along with her customary stocking cap and pigtails, and had a brightly patterned notebook spread open on her lap, the words "Fun Shit To Do" scrawled on the top, and a list that was steadily added to crawling down the page, "I up vote it". Alexis saluted Cammy, and jotted down the idea.

It was a small town. Boredom might not be deadly in those under 25, but it was damn well destructive.

To give you some idea of the damage possible, the top three entries were "Go to the dollar tree and complain that the prices are too high. Also, pay with pennies.", "Ride on top of car, ie car surfing", and "Climb giant tree by city pool. Jump in." They had not shared the list with the older members of their family, though Lexi insisted Rick would "_totally_ go for like 90% of them".

"Sliding down the stairs on the left-over packing boxes?" Alexis was already writing it down, certain the others would up vote that.

"Definitely add to the list," said Brent, "But it'll make too much noise if we do it now." He thought to himself for a moment, "We could-no, Momma would kill us…We could rig up the zipline in the backyard that Rick took down for winter, it _is_ spring now."

"I don't want to die," said Lexi, "Rick said one of the ropes had to be replaced before we could set it up again, remember?"

"Fuck, no, I forgot." Brent scowled, he was sick of just sitting around, but there was nothing to do. Then, for seemingly no reason, he brightened, "We could go visit Mister Theo and your dad at the store, Lexi."

Lexi looked at him like he was crazy, "We do that all the time, how is that list worthy?" The list was a sacred treasure trove of fun; it was not to be sullied with everyday things. Lexi felt Brent should understand this.

"He just wants to get a snack at the soda fountain." interjected Cammy, laughing as Brent pouted at her.

"Traitor."

"You're just mad 'cause she's got you pegged."

Brent stuck his tongue out at both girls, trying not to laugh. "So, if my idea doesn't fly, what _are _we going to do?" Lexi shrugged, looking at her list again for inspiration.

"You guys are so missing the obvious," said Cammy, shaking her head in seeming disbelief that they hadn't already thought of her amazing idea, wispy strands of blondish-red hair flying into her eyes, "We take the cardboard, wax paper and go to the hill where the zipline was…" She trailed off waiting for them to get it. Luckily, it didn't take long.

"Summer Sledding!" shouted Brent at a ridiculous volume, pumping his fist in the air, "Awesome!" He jumped up and said "I'll grab the boxes." As he darted out the door and up the stairs where the boxes were, Lexi shouted after him, as she finished jotting down the final idea.

"We'll grab the wax paper, and meet you outside!" Done, she shut the notebook and ran out of the room before Cammy had finished standing up. The younger girl surveyed the empty space where her friends had been, shaking her head in bemusement.

"Fact: All my friends are crazy." She shrugged her shoulders and went to wait outside in the yard.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	4. The Plot Thickens

A/N: Thank you to all my readers, and especially to the reviewers, Jnd25 and my anonymous reviewer. I hope you guys like this chapter!

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*

*.*

*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*

Rick settled back onto the couch next to Billy, for the moment his presence seemed to be helping, so he figured he might as well stay close. At first Billy kept some distance between them, but then seemingly subconsciously leaned over just slightly so their shoulders were touching. Rick smiled and stayed still as Billy gradually put a little more weight on him, a bit at a time, until he was leaning fully on Rick.

Lynn, who had stood up in case she had to separate them after Billy had shoved Rick, sat back down as well, directing a proud look at Rick. He'd handled that rather amazingly well. Rick caught her gaze and blushed a little at the subtle praise, making Lynn's smile widen. It was nice to know she still had that effect on the boy, grown as he was.

Lily, who hadn't been saying too much, which meant her brain had been working overtime, spoke up, wary of upsetting Billy again, but feeling this needed to be said. Somehow no one else was picking up on the signals she was sure she'd seen. "Billy, are you scared of this person? Have they hurt or threatened you in some way?" Rick's gaze shot up to meet hers as Billy stiffened a bit beside him, shrinking away. Shit. How had they not seen it?

The whole room was quiet for a second, before Rick moved his arm up and around Billy's shoulders, tugging him closer, saying in a voice full of raw, protective, anger, "No one will touch you. No one will hurt you, not ever again. I won't let them; none of us will let them. Just tell me who, and they'll be gone, I swear to God, they'll disappear and never come near you again." Rick didn't notice the slightly disturbed, worried look that had crossed Momma Lynn's face, but he wouldn't have been able to reassure her if he had. He meant it exactly how it sounded.

Billy for his part was becoming resigned to the fact that he was going to have to tell them, and let himself sag into Rick. They already knew so much, and he was kind of worried Rick would just start beating the crap out of every possible tweaker in town. At this point maybe it was just better to get it over with… "I'm not scared of him, exactly, well…maybe. I've never been outright threatened though, I promise."

Billy took a deep breath, "It was that summer I started working for my Uncle Ryan at the staging/event company he owns, Events for Less. Well, I still work there sometimes, but you know what I mean. I couldn't keep up. I was younger than everybody else, and not strong enough. I knew I was screwing it up for everybody, and at first they were okay with it, but after a while they started giving me shit. They'd taught me what to do, so why wasn't I fucking doing it, you know? After a couple of weeks I was worried they'd tell my uncle, and I knew he'd already gone out on a limb giving me the job..."

"Artie, he's the lead guy on most jobs, sort of like a supervisor, approached me and told me he could help. I didn't know what he was talking about at first, but he showed me, and I, well," Billy's speech slowed and he blushed, stumbling over his next words, "I told him no, but he kept offering, and then I fucked up on a couple more jobs…I knew I was going to wind up disappointing my uncle. I figured I'd just try it before the next long day, and see if it helped, and so I hit him up before it and we smoked. It seemed to. Help, that is. I got everything I was supposed to get done, done, for the first time and quickly. I told myself I'd just do it for work, if I needed it, and I did most of the time, but…I liked it, loved the way it made me feel even, and sometimes I'd…I'm sorry, I knew how pissed you'd all be, but I…it helped." It was fairly obvious that it wasn't just work it had helped with, but no one knew what to say, and then Billy went on, "I'd go months and months without touching it-that first year I only smoked four times, and they were all close, in the same month, and then I didn't touch it till the next summer. But then something would happen, or they'd be another hard job and…I wanted to tell you, a couple of times, but Artie…"

Billy fought off a shudder, but Rick could still feel it, and frowned, squeezing the boy closer to him automatically, "He always seemed to _know_ somehow, and he'd show up and either we'd get high or…" The shudder was visible to everyone in the room this time, and Lynn, spoke up, because well Billy might say he hadn't been threatened or hurt, his actions did not match his words.

"Did he hurt you, honey?" Her words were gentle, coaxing, utterly soothing, despite the anger burning inside her. A man in a position of authority over Billy, his first _boss_, had utterly exploited his power over him, and hurt her _baby._ Billy was shaking his head no, but she could tell. She could tell.

"Not…not exactly. We got in fights a couple times-" Rick interrupted here, maybe he should have just let Billy talk, but he didn't think "fights" were really what was going on. He knew Artie Mayfeather; he'd been kicked out of every bar in town, most twice, for basically being a giant, violent, dickhead.

"If an asshole twenty years older than you, and a hell of a lot bigger than you attacks you, that's not a fight Billy, that's a beating." Rick bit down on the "You should have told me", that was pretty much about to burst out of his mouth. His mind recalled times over the last few years that Billy had shown up at the house scuffed up and bruised, blaming it on skateboarding or getting into a scrap at school. Some of those times he was probably being honest, but others…? There had been times it had been bad enough Lynn had bandaged him up, but they never questioned it beyond Rick and Brent offering to hunt down any bullies.

Billy shrugged his shoulders, "It's not like I was a little kid," Rick noticed Lily close her eyes at that, pained, and had to agree. Sixteen might not be a _little_ kid-but it was still very much a kid. "I fought back and everything." Billy was still _such_ a kid.

Lynn had her hands clasped together in her lap, and her eyes might not have been closed, but Rick knew her well enough to know she was praying. He kind of felt like doing the same, but he wasn't sure it was appropriate to pray for the horribly painful death of anyone, even if it was Artie Mayfeather. Billy seemed to have more to say, and Rick steeled himself to listen, because he had the feeling it was only going to get worse. "He had, um, taken pictures and videos of us smoking, about a year and a half ago, two years, maybe? I thought he was just playing around you know, but then he edited himself out of the video and deleted the pictures that had him in them…" Billy trailed off trusting them to understand, and then started up again, "It's not like he was making me, you know, I still could have, and sometimes did, say no. There were plenty of times I sought him out too. He just didn't want me to tell Uncle Ryan, or well anybody, and said if he thought I was going too, he'd show people the pictures first. Just that, he didn't hurt me."

"Just?" Lily's tone was strict, but not harsh, a mirror of her mother's best no-nonsense tone, "There is no "just" about it Billy Knox. This _person_," she practically spat the word, "Physically assaulted you, blackmailed you, and pressured you into using drugs under the pretense that it would make you better at your job. Starting when you were _sixteen. _Yes, you could have, and should have said no, every time, and obviously we're not pleased that you didn't. You also said you went to him on your own, and smoked on your own, and after three years I doubt he's your only dealer. But that doesn't excuse what he did to you. He hurt you Billy, and he had _no_ right to."

Billy shrugged, uncomfortable with the rare display of fierceness from Lily, and said the first thing that popped into his head, "It's not that big a deal." Lynn shook her head in denial and Rick growled, but Lily _exploded._

"_That is such fucking bullshit_! Why the _hell_ would you even think something like that? It is a big deal, a very big deal when someone hurts you! You're a part of this family, Billy, you're my little brother just as much as Brent is, and we take care of our own. _No one_ is allowed to touch you." She was breathing hard as she wound down, gaze locked with Billy, "You're_ my _little brother."

"I second that." said Rick, his voice still a growl, but a soft one, "My brother. Mine." Billy felt a bit overwhelmed, and might have made an incest joke, 'cause if they were both related to him…but then Momma Lynn was sitting on the other side of him, clasping both his hands again, and he didn't figure she would approve.

"You're my son, my child, my baby, my heart," There were tears flowing down Lynn's face, and even though Billy knew he shared that title with five other people, it made it more, not less. He didn't understand how one person could be full of that much love, let alone that someone that good would find him worthy. "I might not have given birth to you, but you are _mine._" Billy wished she had. She was a much better mother than the one he'd been born to, but he didn't know how to tell her that.

Or maybe he did. "You're my Momma." He was crying now too, hard so he couldn't finish what he'd wanted to say, that there was no need to add Lynn to it, because she wasn't just like his mother, wasn't a second mother, she _was_ his mother in all the ways that had ever mattered. That since he was not quite eight years old he'd been welcomed at the Jacobson house, him and his baby sister both, with open arms. That Lynn had hugged him, smoothed his hair, told him she was proud of him, and eventually that she loved him, more times in just the first few years he'd known her than his mother had in his whole life. As Lynn took him into her arms, for the second time just that day, he thought maybe he hadn't had to say it after all. She already knew.

*.*.*.*.*.*

As they waited outside for Brent to return with the boxes, Alexis, random sunglasses now serving a purpose outside in the sun, turned towards Cammy and in a roundabout way brought up something that had been bothering her since yesterday. "Hey Cammy, you know you're my best friend right?" Cammy turned towards her surprised, and nodded.

"Of course, Lexi. You're my best friend too." She hadn't realized it was something that needed clarification. They were _all_ best friends, really, but it was no secret that among them, she and Lexi were each other's besties. Billy and Brent, and Rick and Lily, were paired off that way too. Her stoned mind decided to follow the tangent, figuring that next closest was either Alexis and Brent, or her and Brent, then Lily and Billy, 'cause they could geek out over comic books and obscure literature together. Then it was sort of boys vs. girls, and wasn't it neat that they were evenly matched…

Cammy didn't fully realize her ramble was taking place out loud till she heard Lexi, practically shouting in her ear, "Camm-my, Camm-y, earth to Cammy," and turned to her surprised, "First of all we are _not _going on Family Feud, no way in hell, and second I wanted to ask you something."

"Family Feud would be fucking _amazing; _you don't know what you're talking about. What's up?"

"What's going on with you and your mom?" Cammy froze, and then tried to play it off.

"What? What about my mom?" Alexis, who along with best friend called Cammy her little sister, fixed her with a look. It might have been more effective without the ridiculous sun glasses.

"Brent referred to her as nice, and you snorted so hard at the idea I'm surprised you didn't spray snot all over. I mean, I know you guys aren't especially close, and we almost never go over there, but I thought you got along okay. "

"Ewww, lovely visual." Cammy made a face, ignoring the second part of Alexis's speech altogether. Alexis crossed her arms over her chest, and Cammy caved just a bit, "He actually referred to her as "the nicest lady in the world", an obviously ridiculous thing to say. That's all."

"I must look really stupid." Lexi's face was grim, and Cammy tried not to laugh, but come on, the bright purple slotted sunglasses, topped with yesterday's beanie and messy pigtails, a raggedy techno band t-shirt and holey jeans, red eyes and a scowl on her face, and yeah, she kinda did.

"You know, I was trying to help, but forget that." Cammy stopped laughing immediately as Alexis turned away from her, genuine hurt on her face.

"Sorry." Alexis shrugged but didn't move, "Okay. Fine. I'll tell you." Alexis turned back around, full attention on Cammy now, "She…uhg. You suck you know that?" Lexi rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored the comment, waiting for Cammy to continue, "Fine…she sorta ignores us, I guess. She puts on an act when other people are around, but she's just not there most of the time, and when she is she doesn't really have time for us. Better stuff to do. Part of it is that she works a lot. It wasn't so bad when we were little, but it's not like we can't take care of ourselves now. I mean, she pays the bills, and there's food in the house, or money for groceries anyway, she's just not…she's not a touchy-feely mother like Momma Lynn. And…she's always been a little worse to Billy than she is to me; I think 'cause he looks like our Daddy. Talks mean to him sometimes, and the last few years I've overheard them fighting a few times when she thought I wasn't around-and she's just nasty to him when she thinks I can't hear. _I hate her_." The last statement was almost torn from Cammy's lips, and she seemed as surprised by it as Lexi. After a moment she regained composure and smiled a bit wryly at her friend, "Now, you know." Cammy shrugged.

"Wow. Fuck. Fuck that _bitch!"_ Lexi practically shouted the last bit in indignation, and Cammy laughed, it was just so pure Lexi, and exactly how she would have pictured her friend reacting if asked about it. Cammy laughed hard, waving Alexis off when she grew concerned.

"M'fine, I swear," She forced herself to stop laughing, "Just, emotional I guess."

"Yeah," Said Lexi, not convinced, "I've known you since you were eight, and just found all this out, so I'm thinking you're a much better liar than previously thought." She was slightly impressed, to tell the truth.

Cammy shook her head in denial, "I'm a terrible liar. But I'm very good at not saying much, or not much of anything important anyway, and letting people make assumptions." Lexi just stared at Cammy; she didn't know what to say.

Cammy sighed and punched her friend playfully in the shoulder, "I'm _fine_, and Billy is going to be just fine. We have you guys; you're our family really, the only one we need." Lexi nodded her head in agreement, and then shook it slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us, Cammy? Why didn't you tell _me?_" Lexi stared at her, wanting to say more, but not sure if she should, wanting to say, "I'm supposed to be your best friend, supposed to be your _sister_. Don't you know you can tell me anything?" But she didn't.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent froze on the stairs as he heard his sister shouting-Lily _never_ shouted, not when she was actually angry, and she sounded _furious._ He knew he should just head back downstairs with the make-shift sleds, the girls were waiting but…he edged closer to the door, and very, very slowly leaned his ear up to the wood. The words were muffled but he could make out a bit, "Big deal…hurt you! …this family, Billy…my little brother. No one…to touch you!" There were only quieter voices then, and Brent moved away to the stairs before he could be caught.

Someone had hurt Billy. Lily had said something about someone touching him. Brent remembered the long ago talks about adults and kids and touching, and thought he was going to be sick, hoping to god he had somehow heard wrong. He had only heard a couple of broken sentences; he might have been completely off track...

Despite his mother's faith, Brent had always really just gone along with the motions when it came to church and prayer. But as he got down to the bottom steps he sat and prayed for real for the first time in years.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"I hate to say this, but I have one more question for you Billy, before we're done." Rick really wished they could just let it go, but if there was some truth in Billy's "four months ago" comment he wanted to know. Billy was still in between him and Momma Lynn on the couch, Lily perched on the coffee table to be closer, turned so his back was leaning against Lynn's side and the boy looked utterly exhausted, but nodded at Rick, as if to say "get it over with". "You told me that you started using heavily four months ago. Why?" Billy looked down again and Rick wanted to groan. Just one answer, one answer they didn't practically have to pull out of him with pliers, would be nice.

"My mom found out." Billy kept his head down, and Rick would have been grateful for the sudden compliance if the answer hadn't left him so utterly confused. He looked at the other two, but it didn't help him any, it was clear it made no sense to anyone else either.

"I don't understand, honey," said Lynn, arms wrapping around Billy from behind, "She found out and didn't try and stop you?" Billy laughed, a dry, broken sound, that scarily enough _did_ have real mirth in it, as though the very idea was hilarious.

"No. She didn't care." Billy's voice was rather bland compared to his laughter, "Said she should have expected it of me, that she always knew I would wind up like him." Lynn reminded herself very carefully that it was more important to stay with Billy, than to track down Dawn Knox and run her over with her car.

That could wait.

"Can we talk about something else now?" Billy continued, "Please? I just-this is too much. I need a break."

"Okay love," said Lynn nodding, knowing that pushing when Billy had already given so much would be the worst thing to do. They'd already pushed him to his limit at least twice that day, and if it hadn't been so important she would have stopped this at least an hour before. Billy for his part sagged against her in relief, exhaling deeply. Yes, he'd definitely had enough, "It's lunch time anyway."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy carried the stack of lunch plates to the sink, Brent behind her with an armful of glasses. As she settled her load on the counter and went to turn on the sink, Momma Lynn clucked behind her, and waved her away, saying "No, no, I've got it love," She turned to address the whole room as she continued, "Why don't you guys go back outside, keep playing that sledding game you had started. In an hour or so we'll drive the first load over; it shouldn't take too horribly long." She could make a quick phone call too.

Torn between being grateful for a reprieve of her turn cleaning up, and horrified that anything she did would be referred to as "playing", whether it was or not (she _was _seventeen), Cammy smiled at Momma Lynn, and practically dragged Brent out to the backyard with her.

So far Lexi hadn't said anything, but as Cammy's stoner daze wore off she realized there was little chance that would last for long. Avoiding any potential reminders by keeping herself mostly below radar was the plan for now.

The rest of the group followed slowly, figuring that Cammy and Brent left quickly to have a little "alone time". As Alexis and Lily started talking, black and brown heads bent close together, and Billy, still wiped, drifted along just in front, Rick let himself fall back. He kept walking after the others for a few paces, and then stopped, waiting for the backdoor to close before he turned around and quietly made his way to the front door the roundabout way, going through the living room and the den instead of back down the hallway by the open kitchen doorway. Rick slowly opened the front door, just enough so he could slip through and pulled it shut behind him.

He had unfinished business in town.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Alexis hated the idea of snitching. Hated it. It was disloyal, and showed a person couldn't handle situations by themselves. No snitching was the standard. It was a rule she'd always held herself too, and she was proud of it.

But there are exceptions to every rule. Which is why, when Cammy practically dragged Brent out of the kitchen, Lexi took advantage of it to approach Lily, sidling close to her in the hallway. This was a situation Lexi could not handle, and Billy and Cammy had already dealt with it long enough.

"Hey Lily," Lily glanced over, took one at Lexi's face, and slowed a bit, matching her pace to the younger girls'.

"Hey, Lexi, what's up?" Lexi tugged on the end of a pigtail sticking out past her stocking cap, wrapping the end around her finger, hesitating.

"I think-I, oh, fuck." Lily suppressed a smile at the very Lexi way of starting a conversation; the girl often didn't make much sense for the first minute or two. "Look, Cammy told me some stuff about her mom that I think you ought to know." The young women glanced at Lily, somehow managing to look like she was fidgeting even as they walked down the hall, waiting for her response.

Lily for her part couldn't say she was too surprised, not after what they'd learned from Billy this morning. A woman didn't go from being a normal mother, to telling her child he might as well be a worthless tweaker as anything else, that she hadn't ever expected any better of him, overnight. "Okay, Lexi-lex. Let's sit down at the picnic table when we get outside, and you can tell me. After what we heard from Billy, it doesn't surprise me that there is more."

Lexi looked for a second like she was going to cry, and well high emotions weren't exactly unusual for her, boisterous as she was, she didn't cry easily, "I never noticed. I've been best friends with Cammy practically since I met her, and I never knew anything was wrong. I'm supposed to be her big sister." The last bit was practically whispered and Lily moved closer to her, almost bumping into Lexi as they walked along.

"None of us noticed anything. Not even Momma, and she's a nurse, she's trained to look out for that sort of thing. Mister Theo didn't, and he knows _everything _that happens in town. Whatever happened, is _not_ your fault. I'm supposed to be _both_ of you guy's big sister, do you think it's my fault?" Lexi had to concede that she did not, and Lily nodded triumphantly. "See? The important thing is the second you knew something was wrong, you started trying to fix it. That's all anybody can do, really." She gently pushed the younger girl ahead of her out the back door, letting it swing shut behind her, and guided her over to the picnic table.

She never even noticed that Rick should have been behind her.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Richard Allen Morgan don't you dare start that car!" Rick froze in the process of shutting his car door, and looked up at Momma Lynn tearing down the driveway towards him, blue eyes flashing angrily as she waved a soapy spatula in the air. Shit.

"Uhh-" Before he could formulate a full thought, she was upon him, pulling his car door all the way open, one hand on her hip.

"Did I or did I not, tell you to stay away from Artie Mayfeather?" Rick gulped; Momma Lynn's calm but furious tone of voice was far scarier than outright yelling. "I asked you a question, Rick." Now the eyebrow was raising, and he fought a wince.

"Yes ma'am, but-" Lynn shook her head, and he cut himself off.

"No buts. Keys." She held out the hand that had been on her hip expectantly, and Rick looked at her dubiously. She couldn't be serious…

"No way." Rick meant it as an explanation of disbelief, as in she couldn't have meant it, but judging from the thunder growing on Momma Lynn's face she took it as a flat, "no, I won't". Tight fingers closed on his ear, and Rick was pulled out of the car in seconds, face tugged down so Lynn could look in his eyes.

"You listen to me, and you listen good, young man. I know you think you know this town and everyone in it like the back of your hand, but I know things about Artie Mayfeather that would make your skin crawl. The word dangerous doesn't even begin to describe him. That son of a bitch has already hurt one of my children; I'm sure as hell not going to lose one of you to him. Do you hear me? Give me your keys _now_, Rick. You are not driving off to get yourself killed today." Rick looked at Lynn, and while he wasn't convinced, realized there was no way in hell he was getting his way on this one, and nodded, wincing as it made the skin on his ear pull.

"Yes'm," Lynn released his ear, and Rick rubbed at it gingerly as he bent to pull the keys out of the ignition. He turned and handed them to Momma Lynn, trying not to pout as she pocketed them.

"Thank you, Rick." Lynn smiled at him, though she still didn't look especially pleased, and Rick scowled at her.

"I'm not sixteen, you know. I can go where I want." His scowl began to resemble a pout as Lynn looked at him, clearly not impressed. She pointed towards the house, and said only one word.

"Inside."

Rick trudged past her, grumbling, jumping in surprise when the spatula suddenly whistled through the air and landed with a splat on his ass. "Momma Lynn!" He turned towards her in surprise, eyes wide, and she smirked at him.

"What can I say? You had a good idea." Her expression turned serious again, and she pointed towards the door with the spatula, "Inside. Now." Rick headed towards the house, keeping an eye on Momma Lynn and that spatula the whole time.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy, Brent, and Cammy stood at the crest of the small hill, looking down at Lily and Alexis who were perched on top of the picnic table talking. "What are they doing?" Brent scratched his head, "Lexi had hardly even gotten a chance to sled before we got called into lunch. I figured she'd be first up the hill."

Billy shrugged, "Talking about something, obviously. Probably me, if my lucks holding out." Cammy bit her lip at her brother's statement; he was probably right, him or her, anyway. She knew she should have kept her mouth shut. Then she noticed something else out of place.

"Hey, where's Rick?" She peered around the yard as though expecting him to be lurking in a corner somewhere.

Billy looked up and looked around; turning a bit pale and cursing under his breath when he saw Rick really wasn't there. Brent and Cammy both looked at him curiously, and he figured he might as well tell them, "I'm worried Rick's gonna get himself in real trouble. I think Rick's gone to beat the hell out of…somebody, only I think it'll probably wind up the other way around." Cammy shook her head confidently, her trust in Rick's ability to do basically anything was pretty unshakeable, and at the moment Billy found it highly annoying.

"No, Rick always wins fights." Billy tried to share a look with Brent, they'd both seen Rick lose more than one fight, and the aftermath of several more losses, but Brent was staring at the ground with his face screwed up, apparently deep in thought.

As Billy shrugged and turned back to his sister, Brent's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his wrist, and saying "I really need to talk to you," began pulling his friend along behind him, just expecting him to follow. Billy rolled his eyes, but really, he was rather used to Brent deciding to pull him one place or another.

As the two boys moved away Cammy called a half-hearted "What the hell?" after them, but knew there wasn't much she could do but wait. She flopped down in the grass, idly plucking a few daisies as she watched the boys. Their conversation was quite animated, Brent's arms waving about, Billy's face at first confused, then horrified, quickly followed by a yelped, "No! Eww, no, no, no." Brent laughed; she didn't have to see his face to know he was relieved about something, and judging from Billy's reaction she wasn't sure she wanted to know…

*.*.*.*.*.*

"You have a sick mind." Billy shook his head in bemused disgust.

"I was worried about you asshole," Brent playfully swiped at Billy's head, not surprised when he only clipped red hair, "I thought somebody hurt you. It's not like I thought you were having a love affair with that smelly bastard."

Billy nodded sagely, "If I were going to have a gay love affair I'd definitely choose someone less smelly. Also, hopefully not twenty years older than me."

"Having all their teeth would be a good start." Brent laughed as Billy made a disgusted face.

"Definitely a requirement." He paused and kicked at the grass with the toe of his shoe, hands thrusting into his pockets, "I'm still worried about Rick. Artie is a dangerous mother-fucker, Brent, you don't understand. I'm pretty sure those rumors about that guy disappearing ten years ago being on him are true. Rick doesn't even carry a knife, 'cept a little swiss knife that isn't good for anything, not a switchblade, let alone fight with one, and-"

Brent cut off his increasingly emotional rant by taking his shoulders and turning him to look at the back door, "Look, there's Rick now. Looks like Momma has it under control." First Brent, then Billy sniggered as Rick was rather unceremoniously escorted out of the house, Momma Lynn saying a few words, and then firmly shutting the door behind her.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick knew he should just back down and go quietly to the backyard like he'd been told. He knew if any of the kids talked to Momma Lynn like he was right now, he would have been on their asses like a mad dog in about two seconds.

He was fucking pissed as all hell though, and he didn't handle not being able to act on his anger well at all. "Look, I've been in a lot more fights, and done a lot more dangerous things than you know about, and I'm pretty fucking sure I can take that bastard."

Momma Lynn who had gone back to washing dishes after telling Rick to go out back with the others, for, oh just, the third time, smoothly responded, "Oh really? Would you please enlighten me as to what these various fights and dangerous things have entailed?" Rick decided that was a win for her as he eyed the spatula that was still in easy reach on the counter.

"That's not really the point, the point is this just can't be let go. Artie isn't just a drunken annoyance anymore; he's dealing drugs to kids. Hard drugs!" Lynn tried to take in a deep breath to calm herself, and then gave it up for a bad job, throwing down the dishrag in her hands and whirling around to face Rick.

"Do you not speak English, boy? Or is it that you just decided not to listen to me? Artie is not and never has been "just an annoyance." He is a violent, crazy, career criminal, and probably a psychopath, who has been accused of everything under the sun, including rape and murder. For god's sake, he gouged out a grown man's eye when he was sixteen! I know you've heard those stories! Yet, so far he has managed to get away with it all with a slap on the wrist. Hasn't done more than a two year stretch. That is not the sort of man you just charge into a fight with blindly." Lynn glared right at Rick, deep blue meeting honey, who glared right back.

"Billy's my little brother; it's my job to protect him!" Rick's shoulders were tense, how did she not get it?

Lynn's hand slammed down flat on the counter beside her, "And you are my son, and it's my job to protect you! I have had enough; I am not discussing this with you anymore. The subject is closed." She crossed the room and with hands on her hips said, "I want you to go outside with the others Rick. In a few days, when everyone is calmer, we can decide what to do about Artie."

Rick was feeling stubborn, "That's bullshit. In a few days you're just going to say the same thing, and nothing will happen."

"Just because I don't want you handling it on your own, doesn't mean it won't be handled, your Uncle Gav and I-Dammit," Lynn cut herself off, "I said we weren't discussing this anymore today. If you really don't want to go outside, go watch TV, or play with the dog or something." She looked at him expectantly, and Rick rose, turning to go out the doorway.

Just as Lynn thought she could finish the dishes and maybe relax for a minute, Rick mumbled under his breath just loud enough for her to hear, "I'll just have to walk to town then." She shot around like a rocket and next thing Rick knew he was being marched down the hallway, Momma Lynn informing him very firmly that she was _not _deaf, and he was not going anywhere. As he was deposited outside the back door, she crisply informed him,

"If you even think of haring off on your own, that spatula just might make more than a passing acquaintance with your rear end, you hear me?" She walked away, leaving Rick standing there, frustrated.

Yeah. He'd had a good idea alright.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	5. Uncle Gav

A/N: I would just like to say I am so flattered at the attention my little story has received so far. Posting on other sites has never gone as well, so thank you all very much. Thanks to Jnd25, 5-Star, Rosa and my anonymous reviewer. I followed your suggestion Rosa, and fleshed out the beginning of the first chapter a bit. Hope you enjoy this!

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick glared at the two sitting on the picnic table, snickering lightly at him, a little embarrassed that they had heard him scolded. A quick glance around the yard revealed that while they might not have been close enough to listen, Brent and Billy had certainly seen as they were still staring at him. A few yards away from them Cammy sat flopped in the grass, looking at him sympathetically.

Because pity from the baby was exactly what he needed.

He stalked over to the picnic table, not looking at either girl, and flopped down on the bench facing away from them. Lexi, who like many younger siblings, often found the idea of Rick getting into trouble hilarious, piped up, "So exactly how well acquainted are you with this spatula?"

Rick turned slowly to face her, a glare on his face that would have intimidated someone with better self-preservation skills, but apparently gave Lexi the giggles, "Lexi?"

"Yeah?"

"Go play. Now!" Alexis scooped herself up off the picnic table and shot across the yard, still gigging, but figuring it would be wiser to put some distance between them.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn closed the door to her study and crossed over to the window looking down into the backyard. The dishes were done, and the kids corralled, her last excuse to put this off over with. Lily and Rick were sitting on the picnic table, but the other kids were up on the hill, wax paper and cardboard sleds being put to good use. She flinched as Lexi ran down the top of the hill, sled clutched to her midsection and flung herself forward, sliding down at a rather impressive speed for a landing that would be just grass and dirt if she tumbled. Alexis was fearless, Lynn was not.

After she watched for another minute, she crossed to her desk and took her phone off the hook, pulling a rolodex over to look up a number. She was old fashioned and admitted it, her cell-phone lived in her pocket when she was out, in case there was an emergency, but other than that it sat on a charger being ignored. After a moment of ringing the phone went to voicemail, and Lynn, secretly relieved, obediently left a message after the beep. "Allen, its Lynn, your past and future in-law. I need to ask you a few questions, and may need a favor. I know I'm being vague, but it's a bit too complicated to leave on a message. Thanks, Al, talk to you soon."

She hung up, hopeful that she would actually hear from him. Rick's father, even though his and Rick's relationship was a bit…strained, was a generally reliable man who she knew would help if needed. He also had connections she did not have, even if he no longer lived in Springside. While she wasn't very fond of him, to be honest, she could easily be friendly when it was important, and knew his attitude towards her was similar. You can't be best friends with someone's wife without learning to put up with them, and whatever else she had to say about Allen, he had done the same for her, and even accepted it when Edie had named her Rick's godmother.

Admittedly, he had refused Gavriil as godfather, but considering he and her brother had spent most of junior high attempting to shove each other's heads into the toilets, she couldn't really blame him. Either way he was family, and if it came down to it, she could count on him.

Lynn picked up the phone and started to dial again before hanging up. She stared at the phone in front of her, knowing how ridiculous, and even unfair she was being, but finding it hard to pick it up again.

It wasn't that she didn't want to call Gavriil and Theo. It was more that Lynn knew she should have already called them; that she'd known that since yesterday and hadn't done it. At the very least she should have called this morning. Whatever excuses she'd given herself about the time then, she should have called.

She'd been on a sort of auto-pilot at first, going through the motions of getting her household fed and mostly settled for the night, not fully processing at first just how serious the situation was. That excuse was long past its prime however.

Lynn forced herself to pick up the phone and dial, it rang only once before being picked up, "Agin & Markham Convenience Store & Soda Fountain, Gavriil speaking." Lynn found a smile on her face despite her nerves as the voice she had unconsciously wanted to hear since yesterday answered the phone.

"Hi Gav, how are you and Theo, and how's the store today?"

"Lynnie! The store is good; weekends are always a bit busy, you know, kids spending their whole allowance on candy and soda as soon as they get it. And of course, now that the weather is warmer we get the weekend travelers first thing, filling up their tanks, to go fishing and what not. Theo was kept busy at the fountain; I'm told lemon-lime with strawberry is the flavor of the day. He tried to teach me a little again so I could help with the lunch hour, but we only reconfirmed that I'm hopeless. He'll be happy only when Cammy and Lexi are out of class for the summer and working, his protégé's apparently have a knack for it."

Lynn chuckled, that sounded like Theo. Their family patriarch was anything but soft spoken. Theo, a stately elderly black man who had single handedly kept the soda fountain alive in their little town as it had died out elsewhere, considered it an art form. Having tasted the difference between a soda made by Gavriil, and one made by Theo, Lynn had to agree. "How is Theo today, is his cold doing any better this week?"

"Seems to be over it, but I'm keeping an eye on him. He's still tiring a bit easy, he's upstairs resting now. As for me, I'm doing well as ever. We only all saw each other two days ago Lynnie, is something wrong?" His sister's tone sounded a bit off, a bit worn down, "Is my girl keeping out of trouble, and the rest of our brats?"

"Lexi has been an angel, at least as much as any of the kids ever are, but we still have a situation on our hands."

Gavriil sighed, and responded with a simple, "Who did what?", and for what had to be the thousandth time Lynn thanked God that her old friend had moved back to town with Lexi in tow nine years ago. Even if he had needed a bit of encouragement from her and Theo first.

In a very short period of time he had shifted from the uncle who sent cool birthday cards, into a sort of unificial co-parent, keeping an out for the children when they were running amuck around town, and the two had managed together to keep them toeing the line. For their part, after a few power struggles, and more than a few pranks, the kids wound up adoring him, although possibly not as much as their "Mister Theo". During their younger years they had practically haunted the shop when they weren't at Lynn's, or out getting into mischief.

"You're going to want to sit down for this one, and I'm not trying to be funny. If I'd found out before dinner time last night, I would have already told you and Theo. I should have already told you, anyway. In fact, I'm just going to go ahead and apologize in advance. I'm sorry." Lynn heard Gavriil get up and what she thought was the sound of keys locking a door and a sign flipping.

"After everything that herd of delinquents has gotten up to over the last few years that you've dealt with without the blink of an eye, I have to admit you're scaring me a little here." Lynn sighed guiltily, she could tell, his almost non-existent accent was flooding into his voice, v's and w's indistinguishable from each other.

"It's just one delinquent this time, our Billy has gotten himself into a mess that involves Artie Mayfeather of all people." There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line and several Russian curse words that she didn't have to know the meaning of to understand.

"What is Billy doing anywhere near that bastard?" Gavriil had a hard time imagining Billy choosing to keep company with the man, his grip tightening on the phone as possibilities began to swirl through his head. To say the crowd he ran with was rough was putting it lightly, and just the idea of Billy around him made Gavriil nervous. The children were wild, but they weren't _bad. _

He'd rather thought the small town they lived in, still very much the same as when he'd moved there as a boy, meant it was safe for them to run a bit wild.

"I don't know how we missed it, but we did," Lynn was choosing her words carefully, "Billy works for his Uncle Ryan off and on, you know…" She trailed off not sure how to phrase the rest of it.

"Yes, I know Ryan, and that Billy works for him during the busy seasons. Lynn, spit it out already, what does that mean? What's wrong?" Lynn usually cut to the chase, could be downright blunt; this dancing around the issue was putting Gavriil very on edge.

"He's been selling meth to our boy, Gav." Lynn's voice was quiet, but hard. There wasn't really a way to soften that blow, and just thinking about it made her angry.

Gavriil was horrified and confused, "His Uncle Ryan? You can't-" Lynn cut him off hurriedly.

"No, no, of course not. Artie. Artie works for his uncle, he's been the damned foreman, supervisor, whatever on most of the projects Billy's done. His boss. He's been selling our boy meth; actually I'm pretty sure he was just giving it to him at first. Since he was sixteen, Gavriil." Lynn's voice broke on his name, and that made Gavriil's mind up for him.

"I'm coming over," Gav was already standing and shutting off lights, his mind reeling. He felt rather as though his world had been turned over, end to end. This could not be right. Billy had been the honor student, nose always stuck in a comic book, sketch pad tucked into his back pocket. He didn't get into trouble, not without the others encouragement. He was still such a small kid, his last growth spurt only serving to make him seem more gangly and delicate…

"But you don't usually close up until seven. We're doing okay." Gavriil, getting ready to write a note to Theo, who at 83 tired easily and had gone to nap in his apartment above the shop, found himself clenching the pencil in his hand.

"I'm coming over Lynn. Screw the shop. You were right, you should have told me about this yesterday or at the very least this morning. It's nearly two o'clock in the afternoon. What the hell Lynnie?" Lynn winced, knowing he was right, and how furious she would have been if the situation were reversed.

"I'm sorry, Gav, I really am, and I don't have an excuse. I've been running on panic mode. Thanks for not screaming."

Gavriil dropped the pencil and rubbed his hand over his suddenly weary face, "I still don't know anything really, and I think it would be better if this conversation happened in person. Really Lynn? Did it seriously not occur to you that I'd kind of like to see Billy after hearing this? How did you find out anyway? Did Billy tell you?"

"No. Rick caught him smoking down at the creek. And, um." Lynn paused not sure how to explain the next bit, "He handled it in a rather…old-fashioned manner."

Gavriil blinked in bewildered annoyance, why was Lynn choosing now to be so cryptic? "Lynnie, I have no damned idea what that means." That his usually straight to the point friend was being so obtuse, when he was rather desperate to know what was going on was beginning to more than upset him.

"Sorry. Just keep in mind; that I've already assured Rick that he's not in any trouble for his actions, and I'd appreciate it if you backed me up."

"You know I will." He rolled his eyes; Rick was a good kid, and a better brother, he couldn't imagine he'd done anything too worrying.

"He spanked him, and yes, I mean it." She rushed out the words and after gaping at the phone for a bit, Gavriil processed them, frowning, and then reluctantly nodded in approval, before remembering Lynn couldn't see him through the phone. Not particularly worrying, but certainly not what he expected. He didn't exactly like the idea of Rick being physical with Billy, especially when he must have been angry, but such drastic behavior required a drastic consequence.

"Good, saves me the trouble." He wasn't serious and they both knew it-the idea more than likely simply wouldn't have occurred to him. Though, he thought sourly, it certainly seemed appropriate in retrospect-he couldn't believe that boy! Lynn snorted, before sighing.

"I don't know what to do. From the look of Billy he hasn't slept more than an hour or two in the last week, possibly longer. I don't know how I missed it. Rick already tried to sneak off to go fight Mayfeather, all by himself. In any other situation I'm sure Lily would keep him in line, but as upset as she was when Billy told us his story she's more likely to go along herself. I'm fairly certain they're collaborating in the backyard." Gavriil fought back a wave of hurt at the clue a family meeting had been held without him. It was upsetting, but he pushed it away for now.

"I'll be there soon-don't you dare say I don't have too again Lynn, or I _will _yell. I just have to write a note for Theo, and I'll be on my way. You don't have to deal with everything on your own, you know." Gav shook his head, how a person could be too independent and self-sufficient he had never understood, but Lynnie managed it just fine.

"I know. I'll see you soon. Thanks."

"Lynnie?"

"Yes?"

Gavriil could no longer hide the irritation in his voice, and at this point did not want to, "Please do not thank me for taking care of my own family. It's not a favor, or a job I expect paying for, it's a duty and a joy I take on willingly for the people I love. I thought you understood that." He hung up before he could say anything worse, scribbling a note for Theo and going out the side door to where his battered truck was parked.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lily sighed and swung her body over so it was behind Rick on the picnic table, one leg curled in front of her, and the other hanging over the edge of the table, bumping his side. "Did you do what I think you did to get Momma so mad?" Rick groaned and leaned his head back against her.

"Probably. What do you think I did?"

"I think you tried to sneak off to take on that bastard Mayfeather all by yourself."

"Yeah, smart girl, that's the one."

Lily shook her head affectionately, "Idiot. As though Momma wasn't going to be on the lookout for that. Besides, I thought you were going to take me with you?"

Rick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, in retrospect it wasn't the smartest idea to go through the front door with her right down the hall in the kitchen."

"The front door?" Lily scoffed, "You're getting out of practice in your old age. And you didn't answer my question."

"I agreed to that before we knew who was involved," Rick tipped his head back, looking up at Lily, "Call me sexist all you want; I don't want you anywhere near that bastard." She made a face but nodded, knowing when to give in.

"You can't go by yourself though, it's too dangerous." Rick nodded reluctantly

"I know. Maybe Uncle Gav could-" Rick froze suddenly, and then turned himself around so he was facing her, "Lily?"

Lily, looked at him confused for a moment, before realizing what he had. "Oh shit."

"No one told him?"

Lily shook her head, "I didn't, you didn't, Momma must not have, he would be here if she had."

"Well this day just keeps getting better and better doesn't it?" Rick laughed, and then shook his head, running a hand through his hair, "Oh god. You know I'm not going to worry about it, since I've just been thoroughly regulated to kid status. I'm gonna go sled." He slid down the bench and clamored off, heading across the yard, leaving Lily to stare concernedly after him for a moment, when he turned around and called to her, "Aren't you coming?" She thought for a moment longer, than slid off the top, walking over to clasp Rick's offered hand.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil sat at an intersection, fuming as he waited for the light to change. The more time he had to think the more upset he was becoming. He also desperately wanted to see for himself that Billy was okay-Gavriil knew he must be, but the worry was still there.

It had not even been a full 24 hours, and part of him worried he was being ridiculous, overreacting. Yet most of him was furious that Lynn had waited so long to tell him, furious that he still didn't know the full story, when if she weren't so damn independent, if Lynnie didn't have to always solve her own problems, he would already be there. Furious that she had clearly needed him there, wanted him there, and yet hadn't called him till the next day.

Furious that this had apparently been going on for three years and he hadn't even suspected anything at all.

The light changed, and Gavriil pulled forward, letting himself drive on instinct as he went down the familiar streets.

When his wife had died, after suffering for so long, leaving him with a devastated and angry eight year old and a hospital bill bigger than what he made in ten years salary, Gavriil had drifted through life. First his father had died when he was a teenager, there one day and gone the next, Uncle Jeffery had drifted into a diabetic coma and never woken up, then they'd lost Edie, who had been as much of a sister to him as Lynn, really, when Rick had been just six. His mother just a year after that...losing his Sarah was just too much.

Over the next few years the only thing he'd really bothered to pay attention to was his Lexi. He'd lost his job as a machinist, and couldn't seem to hold down another one, and eventually he'd lost his house as well. Their house. They'd moved from place to place, each a little worse than the last.

Theo had been his father's business partner long before he'd become Gavriil's, and had been like an uncle to him growing up, an unofficial godfather of sorts. When his father died Theo had been there to help them in every way, and he'd slowly shifted from uncle to father in Gavriil's mind. After he'd married Sarah and moved away Theo had made a point of checking up on him, calling and visiting often over the years, especially after his mother had passed.

So really, he shouldn't have been so surprised when Theo showed up not long after they'd wound up moving into an Extended Stay, and hadn't given him much choice in coming home. What in the world was he doing, living in a roach coach with that sweet baby? Didn't he know he had friends to turn to, that he still had family? The wiry old man had begun to pack his things, the few that hadn't been pawned or placed in storage, ignoring his protests, and hustled both him and Alexis out the door in under an hour. When he'd gotten outside and seen Lynn waiting in the driver's seat, he'd at first simply been overwhelmed at seeing another old friend coming to his rescue.

It was over a month before he realized that he hadn't told anyone he'd been kicked out of their last rental, had quit informing Theo of his moves several before, that no one should have known. When he'd asked Theo about it the old man had shrugged and said, "You'd have to ask our Lynnie about that, son. I don't know how she knew, but she did, and I'm certainly glad she did." He'd then glared mildly at the other man, who even at 36 still seemed very young to him, "Considering that you insisted you were doing just fine when I talked to you not a month before that. Some things a man shouldn't keep to himself, not when it comes to family anyway." He'd patted Gavriil on the shoulder, and walked away muttering to himself about stubborn kids with too much pride. Skinny, stubborn kid, from the feel of his shoulder, didn't that boy eat? He'd been feeding him up properly for a month but you'd never know it…

Since he'd become mostly deaf Theo was rather entertaining to listen too, Gavriil had had to admit-even if he was the one being ranted about.

Gavriil had been too ashamed to return home, as low as he had fallen, and if Theo and Lynn hadn't come for him, he had no idea what would have happened to him, and even worse, to Lexi. He could never repay either of them for that, and more importantly, knew he wasn't expected too. Family did those things because they wanted to.

Somewhere along the way, Lynn had missed the memo that it worked both ways. She was always ready and willing to help others, trying to take care of all six kids, as well as him and Theo, without a thought to her own needs. Oh, she was in ordinary circumstances more than capable of running circles around all of them, and that included managing her high-stress job, and teaching Sunday school, but everyone had a breaking point.

She'd been like that even when they were children really, always taking on projects, taking care of everyone around her. He'd been half friend/half project when they were kids, he knew, at least as first. Lynn couldn't simply leave the lonely foreign boy standing alone on the playground. Almost always she came through with shining colors, but…

But when it came to needing help herself, there were times when it seemed she'd rather run herself into the ground than admit she needed any. Rather let things unravel than turn to her family. Theo was often the only one who could talk to her when she got like that, and for a moment he wished he'd woken the old man up to go with him.

If he were honest, though, he had to admit he didn't think that was really it this time. If Lynn had truly decided she was going to handle this herself, she simply wouldn't have called, regardless of the fallout. He was inclined to believe that this was more a mixture of the "panic mode" she'd mentioned, combined with the fact that she was simply not in the habit of asking for help and hadn't thought of it at first. That didn't exactly make him much happier however, and she still should have known he would want to know, that he would be just as concerned about Billy…

*.*.*.*.*.*

When the absolutely ancient truck came banging and wheezing around the corner, lurching to a stop by the sidewalk in front of the house, all the kids heard it and most of the group ran off to greet their "uncle". Rick and Lily, who had been trying to get a sled to work with their combined weights and not having much luck, gave it up after a moment longer, and went to go with the others, Lily noticing at the last minute that Billy was hanging back.

"Billy, aren't you coming?" She turned towards him, shielding her eyes from the just starting to set sun with her hand, and was able to see him shaking his head.

"No, I'm good. I think I'll just stay here." He nodded his head a bit excessively, and Lily gave him a dubious look.

"Well, okay, I guess, but Uncle Gav is gonna want to talk to you, ya know." Billy nodded again, but didn't look up. Lily looked at him for another moment, before reluctantly walking away to greet her uncle.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gav reached out and tugged playfully on one of Lexi's pigtails as she slid to a stop in front of him, her "Hi Pops!" nearly deafening him.

"Hello Golubushka*," His other arm opened automatically, as Cammy never more than a step or two behind Alexis, almost knocked him over with her hug, "And hello to you too, Bushka." He squeezed her gently, not surprised when she stayed glued to his side as Brent, then Lily and Rick came up to greet him. It could not have been an easy day for any of them.

Gavriil frowned when Billy still had not come around the corner a moment later, but before he could ask, Lynn had opened the front door, smiling sadly at him. As usual, once he saw her his resolve to stay annoyed faded away, and he found himself smiling back, even if it were tinged with anger and exasperation. Lily took one look between her mother and uncle and drew the others over in front of the garage; not at all sure this was going to play out well. They very rarely fought, but when they did…

Gav walked up the front stoop, hugging Lynn briefly before letting her lead the way up to her office, front door firmly shut behind him.

This conversation was going to require privacy.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy sat down on top of the hill, pulling his knees to his chest and taking a deep breath. He wasn't sure he wanted to see his Uncle Gav. He couldn't help but notice he wasn't there for their talk and Billy was sure Momma Lynn would have told him, so that was just _strange._ It had been playing at the edge of his mind for a while now, but he hadn't been letting himself think about it.

Billy was generally good at that, but he couldn't seem to distract himself.

Why would Uncle Gavriil wait till now to come? It didn't make much sense…unless the reason he hadn't come was he was too angry before. If that were the case, was his showing up now a good thing or not?

Oh god. What if Mister Theo was with him? What if _Mister Theo _knew what Billy had done? He buried his head in his knees in shame and horror at this new thought. Mister Theo could _not _know.

Billy had idolized the old man since he was a very little boy, even before he really knew Momma Lynn and the others.

When he'd been around six or seven, his mother had begun leaving early on Saturday mornings, and wouldn't come home until after midnight most of the time. Sometimes not till the next day. She left food for Billy to cook, but he'd been scared of the stove after he'd burned himself trying to make ramen soup. They made do with cold cereal for breakfast, most of the time there was milk, and they'd eat leftovers or pb & j for dinner, since Billy knew little kids shouldn't be out that late.

For lunch he'd take Cammy over to the soda fountain and get them each a hotdog and a soda, or once in a while a Shirley Temple or a sundae. He'd had to sneak the money out of a secret spot in the bathroom his mother still didn't know he knew about, and he couldn't take too much at a time.

Mister Theo had been concerned at first to see two such young children out by themselves, week after week. It didn't help that when he'd asked whether they lived nearby, little Cammy had proudly announced their address, recently memorized, which was over a mile away. Billy had quickly concocted a tale of their mother dropping them off each Saturday, while she went to get her hair done, and well he'd never been quite sure the old man believed him, he'd dropped the subject.

Mister Theo always made sure to pay a little bit of extra attention to the two little ones after that, making sure they felt welcome. Though he didn't realize it until years later, Billy often wound up paying far less than he should have due to one imaginary special deal or another. When it wasn't busy Mister Theo would sit down across from them at the counter and spin wild fairy tales for them, or tell (heavily-edited) war stories. He talked to them, joked with them and often sent them home with coat pockets full of "extra" cookies.

Billy had pretty much given up on adults before Mister Theo.

Half the reason he trusted Momma Lynn as quickly as he did was his delight when he discovered that his new best friend's mother was considered family by his hero. Before that he had honestly found her friendliness a bit bewildering, and even suspicious. She wasn't a teacher, paid to be nice to him. Once he knew Mister Theo had Sunday dinner at her house every week it just made sense. Billy'd made it his goal not long after to make sure he and Cammy became part of that family, only to realize a few months later, to his astonishment, that they already _were._

Then Uncle Gavriil had come along, bringing Lexi, who became another sister. Billy had given him a hard time at first, but he hadn't pushed and eventually Billy had realized he quite liked his new "uncle". Uncle Gav, who was funny, and smart as a whip, and _taught_ Billy things, how to shoot, how to change a tire, and even shave. When the time came he talked to Billy about girls, both the mechanics, and about treating a woman with respect (Rick had taught him about porn, and what terms to never type into a search engine).

He'd been the first person to notice his art, seeing some of his pencil sketches in his school notebook, and insisting that yes, Billy _was _that good. For his birthday that year, Billy's twelfth, Gavriil had taken him to a big art store in the nearby city, and told the clerk he needed a proper art set for a "young man who was going places". Billy was sure he'd been scarlet for the rest of the afternoon, but the grin on his face hadn't left till long after he'd fallen asleep that night.

All of it was down to Mister Theo, who had let Billy and Cammy into his family without any particular fanfare, as though it were just natural. As though they belonged there.

Now he wasn't sure how to face the man who had always been so proud of him, seemingly for just being him. He'd already had to see that disappointment in Momma Lynn's eyes, he knew she'd forgiven him already, but it still hurt. Billy didn't want to see that in Uncle Gavril's face either, though he knew he'd more than earned it. The idea of Mister Theo looking at him like that was enough to make tears sting the back of his eyes, and his stomach clench.

He sat there for what felt like hours, but was really not quite half an hour, his thoughts circling around on themselves, good memories warring with bad, so nervous that when he heard footsteps coming up the hill it was a relief more than anything. The footsteps stopped nearby for just a moment, and Billy wanted to look up, really, but froze. The footsteps started up again, and then Uncle Gav was on the ground next to Billy sitting with him in silence for a few moments before speaking, "You know I love you know matter what."

Billy choked up, but tried not to show it, forcing a small smile on his face as he turned towards his uncle, "Any chance that means I'm not in trouble?" Gavriil snorted and reached out for his boy, crushing him against his side.

"Let's just say you're lucky your big brother already punished you, Malysh*. As it is, you are on restriction for the next three months." Billy made a face but didn't argue, "That means, except for your college, you don't go anywhere that isn't your house, here, my house, Theo's, or the store without one of the family with you, and permission from either me or your Momma Lynn. I'm going to be strict on this too, Billy," He warned, "You won't like it if I catch you disobeying." Billy considered this for a moment then shrugged, over all it could have been much worse.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Gavriil looked at Billy a bit suspiciously-in his experience teenagers did not comply this easily. "I was expecting a bit of a fight on that one."

Billy shrugged again and looked down at the ground, "Honestly Uncle Gav, it's kind of nice to have someone tell me what to do next, 'cause I don't have a clue. I've been crying so much my head aches, I'm still coming down, my ass hurts, and I've been up for so long now I'm seeing things. Actually, that started last night, which was like, the third or fourth night I'd stayed up." Billy laughed, just a little hysterically, looking up at his uncle, "I'm pretty sick of lying too, so if you have anything you ever wanted to know about me, now's the time to ask!" Before Gavriil could figure out how to react to _that,_ Billy continued, "I just-I'm glad-" Billy paused for a second, as though something were on the tip of his tongue, and then final blurted out, "I'm glad you're here. I wasn't sure…you weren't here this morning." Gavriil cursed under his breath. He loved Lynnie, he really did, she was his sister, he had to, but at the moment he dearly wished he could strangle her.

"I wasn't told what happened till this afternoon, Billy. If I'd known I _would_ have been here Malysh, I promise." Billy studied him as though to ascertain the truth in his statement, and after a long moment nodded, seemingly satisfied and faced forward again, leaning his shoulder into Gavriil's, who wrapped his arm around the boy again, obligingly.

"Why didn't Momma Lynn tell you sooner?" Gavriil didn't think Lynn herself knew the answer to that question, and he certainly didn't have a clue, but decided to wing it.

"She just made a mistake. Something about being in panic mode. Even someone as superhuman as your Momma Lynn makes mistakes." Gavriil politely did not mention that this one was a doozy, and he was still pissed, and felt himself rather a saint for it. Billy mmm-hmmed at him, but didn't seem very convinced.

They sat like that for a few minutes, before Billy broke the silence, "So, is there any chance we could just not tell Mister Theo about this?" His tone of voice was already outright begging, and Gavriil felt bad that he had to say no, but he hadn't gotten as old as he had lying to Theo.

"I think he deserves to know." He kept his answer simple, hoping Billy wouldn't find much to argue with.

"But-but it could be shocking. And he's old, Uncle Gav, and…," Gav felt the corner of his mouth quirk, was Billy really going where he thought he was? "It could be bad for him. He could have a heart attack or something."

"Billy," He said softly, shaking his head in exasperation, but before he could go on, Billy plowed ahead.

"Or a stroke, he could even die-" Judging from the slight hint of fear entering his voice, Billy was starting to believe his own nonsense, and Gavriil interrupted before he could continue.

"Mister Theo is in very good health, I should know, I drive him to the doctor. And after living for eighty-three years, I highly doubt this will be the most shocking thing he's ever heard."

"Oh, come on!" Billy huffed exasperatedly, tossing his hands in the air, "Please?"

"We don't lie to each other, Billy." Gavriil caught Billy's eye as he said this, wanting him to know he was serious.

Billy hung his head at the rebuke, "I don't want you to lie to him-just, not tell him."

For the love of-Gavriil sighed, the boy was not giving up, "That is called a lie of omission, and you know it."

Billy didn't respond, just kept his head hanging, and Gavriil felt obligated to say something he ordinarily wouldn't have shared, "You're his favorite, you know. Whenever he gets to bragging on you kids to the customers, which is always, you're the one he goes back too, tells the most stories about."

Billy looked up at him hesitantly, looking very much like the ten year old he had been when Gavriil first met him. If said ten year old had been staying up for days at a time. Gavriil felt his heart clench at just how dark the circles under Billy's eyes were. "Really?"

"Yes, really. He loves you very much Billy, this will not change that. I promise." Gavriil did not make promises he couldn't keep, he knew very well that if anything this would simply make Theo rather overprotective of his favorite. Billy leaned his head down again, and Gavriil tightened his arms around his nephew. The story Lynn had told him had been infuriating and heartbreaking all at once, and that Billy hadn't come to any of them for help, was even more so.

That Billy's mother had known and not done anything was by far the most troubling thing, both he and Lynn had been in agreement on that. That Billy and Cammy should not stay there a minute longer than necessary, was another thing they were in agreement on. If Cammy were a few months' older things would be a lot simpler, but waiting the nearly six months till her eighteenth birthday was out of the question.

Billy had told Lynn almost nothing, but the few details she had been able to share were appalling. _No child _should be talked to like that. Telling him she'd always known he was like the man who Gavriil knew had beaten his wife and young son. Billy was _nothing _like that.

The boy in question slumped further against Gavriil's shoulder, beginning to snore lightly, as though to emphasize this difference. He adjusted him so his neck was at a more normal angle, relieved when Billy continued to snore. If the boy had literally been up for days, he desperately needed it.

Well he did not know Ryan, Billy and Cammy's uncle, beyond a friendly conversation at the bar now and again, or a hello when he came in to pay for his gas, everyone in town knew the story. Whenever the man got drunk enough he lamented that he had not killed his brother in-law, and as he was quite a drinker…

Ryan had gone to pick up his niece and nephew, aged two and four respectively, for a trip to the park. When he'd gotten there the front door had been wide open, and Cammy had been by herself on the front lawn, crying hysterically. He'd gone to scoop the young girl up, intent on giving his little sister a piece of his mind, when Billy had screamed with pain. Ryan made it to the front door in time to see his sister go flying into a wall, tossed away from where she'd been trying to shield Billy, who was on the ground, cowering from his father.

William Knox Sr., the reason no one ever called Billy by his full name, never knew what hit him. Ryan had beaten him literally half to death, only stopping when a mixture of police sirens, and his sister's half hysterical wails into the phone that her baby needed a hospital, his arm was broken, pulled him back to reality.

The whole town knew the story. How the woman who had willing shielded her small son's body with her own, not even mentioning her own broken ribs till the boy was sedated and on the way to the hospital, had become the woman who compared the same boy to that awful man, Gavriil had no idea.

Gavriil knew some would feel sorry for her. Say that poor circumstances had led her down that path.

He just wanted her as far away from Billy as possible.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*Golubushka or Bushka; literally little dove, or dove. Used similarly to sweetheart, honey, love, ect. Only appropriate for females.

*Malysh, or Malysha for female; little one; generic affectionate name for either a child or younger adult family member.


	6. The Parent Squad!

Theo groaned slightly, as his body returned to wakefulness, one wrinkled hand coming up to idly rub at a cheek. As he lay there, somehow on top of his duvet rather than under it, it occurred to him that there was something missing. It took a little while longer, before he realized what it was.

Noise.

There was always noise down below when the store was open, voices and footsteps, the door chime and cash registers, music from the parking lot sometimes, until around seven when folks knew he liked to close up. Theo was certain he couldn't have slept till close-that boy better not have let him sleep all damn day. He'd only gone to lie down after the lunch rush, and hadn't planned to be gone more than an hour.

He'd told Gavriil more than once, not to let him sleep all afternoon-He was old, not infirm and there was no reason for Gav to do all the work himself. That was kids for you, always assuming they know best…

As he pulled his glasses over from the nightstand, slipping them on his nose so he could read his watch face, his eyes crinkled in confusion. It wasn't even quite four in the afternoon-still longer then he'd intended to be asleep, but certainly not long enough to explain the store being so silent.

Theo supposed he'd better go down and make sure the place was still standing. He rolled himself out of bed; grateful he hadn't bothered to do more than pull off his shoes and un-tuck his shirt. With a groan he straightened, hands going first to the small of his back, and then stretching out above his head-arthritis had never truly set in, except in the right ankle that he'd broken twice, but you reach a certain age and you're stiff and sore after a nap no matter what-and decided his carpet slippers by the end of the bed would do.

Theo's jaw set as he walked down the stairs, he could see from here that the lights down below were off, and he was beginning to suspect that they'd lost a whole afternoon's business. What in the hell had happened?

There were a few times during the first years Gavriil had been back when the man would sometimes take off unexpectedly, his grief and restlessness making the fool boy get strange notions in his head-but it had been years since Theo had known him to act like that. As he clattered down the last few stairs, his hand fumbled along the wall, flipping on the overhead lights so he wouldn't trip and kill himself, scowling as he saw that while the lights had been turned off, and the door locked, none of the other closing procedures had been done. Food displays still out on the soda fountain counter, register key still in…he headed over to the other side, where the junk food and beer and whatnot was stocked, and people paid for their gas. Yep, the register key was still in there too.

He was going to wring that boy's neck…as he contemplated whether to open for the last three hours or just scrap the day; he noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor by his foot and bent to pick it up.

Huh. Looked like Gavriil left a note after all…as he opened the piece of paper with his name on it, Theo supposed he would have to reconsider wringing his neck.

His brow furrowed as he read the supremely unhelpful piece of paper-what _sort _of emergency with Billy Lynn had needed his help with, would be nice to know. He scowled, but with worry now, as he yanked the cell-phone Cammy had so nicely programmed for him out of his pocket-it generally gave him fits, but he thought he had voice dial down by now.

After a few frustrating tries-at least there was no one around to hear him shouting names at his phone-it began to ring, and he waited impatiently.

When Theo heard the click that meant the phone had been answered, he didn't even wait for Gavriil to say hello-way phones worked these days he would already knew who it was- just snapped, "If there is an emergency you wake me up."

Gavriil, knowing that his father was only worried, and okay, yes, that he probably should have woken him up, wasn't bothered by the snapped words, and reassured him, "Everyone's fine, it wasn't that kind of emergency."

"Well, I figured that-if someone were hurt, and you didn't wake me, I would be having a very angry conversation with you soon after-but you still wake me up if there's an emergency Gavriil Luka, you hear? Especially if it involves one of my Grandbabies." That Theo was not entirely appeased-it had been years since Gavriil had heard his middle name like that-was clear, and his expectation that it not happen again even clearer.

"Yes sir."

The old man made a satisfied noise, and continued, "Are you going to come get me, or should I make my own way to Lynn's?" Gavriil spoke up hurriedly, trying not to let on how much he did not want Theo driving on his own.

"Oh, I'll come get you, no need to get out your bike." Theo made an agreeing noise, trying not to laugh-he knew damn well he didn't react quick enough to ride his motorcycle around town anymore. He occasionally took a slow drive around the neighborhood, or out in the country-but he had no desire to deal with traffic, and it had been over three years since he'd taken it anywhere near the highway, or even most main roads. Theo had retaken his license test this year and passed it, and would for as long as he was able, but he wasn't stupid.

"Thank you son, I'll just get myself ready and be waiting out front for you." The easiest way to get a ride from any of the brood he considered his was to mention that they didn't need to worry, he could get himself to wherever it was just fine. Suddenly they all wanted to pick him up.

Theo hummed worriedly to himself as he disconnected the phone and went to retrieve his actual shoes from upstairs-at his age you couldn't be too careful, come out in your carpet slippers once, and the whole town would think he was senile.

No, Theo was far from stupid or senile. Which is why, as he sat on the bench in front of the store waiting for his ride, his worry began to grow. No matter that Gavriil had said it "wasn't that kind of emergency"-something was very wrong for him to have rushed out in the middle of the day and not even close the store up properly.

When was that boy going to get here?

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil sighed as he clicked his cell-phone shut, looking down at the passed out boy on the guest room bed. Passed out he was too, Billy had always been a light sleeper but he had hardly shifted as Gav carried him in the house and up the stairs. He had been so deeply asleep that he hadn't stirred when Brent and Rick had come charging down the stairs and come close to crushing them just as they started up.

He'd really thought his days of having to scold people for running in the house would be over by now. Gavriil shifted from where he stood at the end of the bed, turning towards the door but still looking at Billy, his hands coming to rest on the bed rail. He'd always been a skinny kid, but before Billy had been healthy looking…now his skin was pale and dry, and the circles under his eyes were so big and dark as to look almost cartoonish. It had been noticeable before, but now deep in sleep the change in him seemed much more dramatic.

"It's normal." Came a quiet voice from the doorway. Gavriil looked up at his sister and before he could ask how any of this could be normal, she continued, eyes trained on Billy, "The deep sleep, I mean. I did some research, reading up on symptoms last night, this is pretty standard. You stay awake so much longer than normal, then once you've mostly come down you just crash. He'll probably sleep till tomorrow."

"He told me he'd been up for around three or four days outside," Gavriil turned back towards Billy, his voice taking on an air of disbelief, "As though he _doesn't _even know how long he's been awake." Gavriil shook his head tightening his grip on the rail, opened his mouth to say something then closed it, shaking his head again. "I need to go pick up Theo, he called a minute ago." He made no move to go towards the door, and Lynn crossed the room resting her hand over his for just a moment in comfort, before sitting down on the end of the bed.

"You better go get him then, you know how he gets when he's worried. I'll sit with Billy."

Gavriil nodded again, and then straightened, releasing his grip on the bed, and slowly walking towards the door, "Yeah, he already gave me a short little speech on not waking him for an emergency," He turned back for a second, and grinning a bit said, "The word grandbabies was mentioned. So just so you know; he's already in his overprotective mode."

Lynn groaned, and said "Feel free to blame it all on me; I started it all by putting off telling you _and_ him."

Gavriil called over his shoulder as he started down the hall, "I just might do that, thanks," chuckling as Lynnie made a face at him, before turning and smoothing down the blanket over Billy's legs.

A quick glance at his watch face made him grimace-time to hurry.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent and Alexis looked out the den window at the truck lurching and sputtering away from the curb.

"Uncle Gav _really_ needs a new truck."

"It'll never happen," Lexi lamented, "Pops loves that thing like it's a puppy. For him, to have to take it to the scrap yard would be just like that kid who had to shoot Ol' Yeller."

Brent frowned, "Lexi it was shooting sparks out the tailpipe. Once of these days, it'll like, catch on fire." He pondered this for a moment longer, "Yeah that would actually be pretty awesome…" At Lexi's affronted look he continued, "I mean as long as Uncle Gav isn't in the truck, geeze."

"In which case it would either be parked outside my house or the store," She teased, "You want us to be incinerated don't you?"

Brent shook his head, laughing, "I said nothing about incinerating anyone!"

"Lies. Pretty, pretty lies."

"Are you two stoned again?" Lily stood in the doorway, smiling, but shaking her head.

"No. " said Lexi looking confused. "Why?"

"I cannot tell a lie," Brent cracked, "We had a circle in the garage before we went out back, but that was hours ago."

"Uh-huh," Lily was trying not to laugh at the two, "I guess I just came in at the wrong part of your conversation. Rick's cooking-"

Brent interrupted her with a cheer, "Yes! Rick's food is awesome." Lily stared at him, wishing she weren't so sure he was sober, because, really?

To be fair Rick was almost a better cook then Momma, and even she admitted it, but still...

"Yeah, and he wants help." Brent's face lost most of its excitement then. When it came to anything more than the microwave or cold cereal, him and the kitchen were a bad combination.

"Oh, um-"

"Not from you, boy-who-burns-water; Lexi." Lily rolled her eyes-no one wanted Brent near the kitchen.

Lexi considered this for a moment, asking "Has he decided what to make yet?" When Lily shook her head no, Lexi brightened and nodded, "Score, that means I get to choose!"

Brent frowned at this, but Lexi was already heading out the door into the hallway, Lily stepping to the side for her. "No spaghetti!" he called after her, but she just flipped him off over her shoulder. Brent turned to his sister grumbling, "Dammit, I hate spaghetti, and Lexi always picks it."

"Lexi always helps, it works out like that." She leaned back against the doorjamb, smiling at him, "So little brother, have you realized yet there is no way we're going to get you moved out today?"

"Well duh, my bed isn't even loaded yet. I kind of figured it was on the backburner for now, and I told the landlord I'd be moving in sometime this weekend, it's still Saturday, so we're good." Brent shrugged, then moved to brush strands of his blonde hair out of his face, where it had flopped, scowling lightly. He could not get it to quit doing that!

"You either need to get a hair-cut, or start buying hair ties."

"I'll just steal yours."

"I'll cut your hair for you, you do that." Lily made a face at Brent, and he made one back, grinning as he succeeded in making her laugh, thereby winning. "So," Lily continued, "You said your sober?"

"Um, yeah?" Brent asked it as a question, looking at his sister bemusedly. He was pretty damn sure she'd already asked him that.

"Would you be interested in getting un-sober with me in the garage?" Lily jerked her head towards the back of the den, where for some reason when the house was built an extra "door" leading to the garage had been added to the back of a closet, textured to match the wall so it blended in. It was really the equivalent of a crawl space that went through a room rather than under it, but the kids thought it was awesome, and it had led to many an afternoon searching for secret passages or other extras. Sadly, not all those afternoons were that long ago.

"Sure, except I'm out of weed." Brent shrugged apologetically.

"I have some, don't worry." Lily headed towards the "secret" door, "You got a lighter?"

Brent nodded and trotted after Lily, grinning.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Pull over." Gavriil turned to Theo startled. He'd known the old man would be more than upset with the story he had told him, but he wasn't expecting _that_ reaction.

"What?" He asked, already automatically slowing and looking for a spot.

Then just as Theo said, "Pull. Over." again in the same tight, gravely, voice he'd used the first time, Gavriil realized they were outside the only bar in town that Mayfeather was still allowed in, and pulled back out into traffic with an annoyed look at the older man.

"Nice try, Theo."

Theo turned an incredulous look at Gavriil, "Did you or did you not hear me tell you to pull over? I wasn't asking."

"Not happening." Gavriil snorted, shaking his head, "I'm not going to let the 83 year old patriarch of my family go start a bar fight."

"Well don't let me, help me. We could take that bastard together."

"Maybe," Gavriil allowed, God knew Theo was a tough old bastard, and not above fighting dirty if he had too, "But not him and all his friends."

"Humph." Theo twisted in his seat before settling, arms crossed low across his chest, "I suppose you're right. Wouldn't be much fun if we had to call Lynnie to bail us out of jail."

Gavriil snorted at the idea, almost tempted to turn around and go back to the bar. He could picture the look on Lynn's face, and it was _priceless._ "She'd skin us alive. And then kill us."

"She would indeed," Theo shook his head fondly, "That girl, now _she _could take out Mayfeather on her own."

Gavriil laughed aloud, "Wouldn't surprise me, Lynn's the scariest person I know when she's riled," he shared a grin with Theo, glad he'd taken the long way around so they had time to talk.

"Seems to me, though," said Theo, the grin on his face becoming truly wicked, "That the worse thing we could do would be to set those kids on him, they can be just like a pack of wolves when one of them is threatened. Do you remember what they did to the Collins boy when he wouldn't quit bothering Cammy?"

Gavriil scowled at the reminder, and then grinned reluctantly, "Little bastard deserved every bit of it, and more, but it was genius." He threw a look at Theo a second later, remembering the original topic, "I don't want any of the kids anywhere near that bastard, and I don't really believe for a second you do either."

"Of course not," Theo dismissed this with a wave, "But they can still help us plan can't they? Might be the only way to keep them from doing something on their own too, if Lynn already had to take Rick's keys. Those kids are damn stubborn." That he was rather proud of this was quite obvious and Gavriil had to roll his eyes.

"They get it from their Granddad."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent grinned lazily at his sister from atop his perch on a stack of boxes, "Okay, you win. This is better than my weed. Where'd you get it anyway?"

"At work." Lily took another hit off her small pipe, little more than a sneak-a-toke, but it held enough for the two of them.

"You work at the library." Brent had an expression of extreme confusion on his face, as though the idea simply didn't compute and Lily stifled a giggle.

"In a small liberal arts college. Everybody smokes, except for Mrs. Amdur who is about ninety years old, and Josiah who works in special collections with the ancient stuff, like pages from books from the 15th century, and is paranoid about getting anything dirty. He doesn't even eat at work unless somebody makes him."

"So, does he like only work part-time?

Lily shook her head, "No he works full time, he just never eats there. He's super skinny too." As Brent contemplated the horror of someone actually _choosing_ not to eat, Lily began to approach the topic she'd wanted to talk to him about in the first place. "Brent does Cammy…" She hesitated, suddenly not sure how to phrase her question.

He looked over, ears perking as the conversation turned to his favorite person, "What about Cammy?" As he took in the slightly apprehensive expression on Lily's face, Brent straightened up, picking up on the serious turn in the conversation, "Seriously, Lil, what about Cammy?"

"Does she ever talk about her Mom with you?"

"Um-not really. It's kind of a touchy area with her. She mentions sometimes that she has to call her, or something she's said. She seems okay enough when I've met her, I guess, but not really interested in us. I know she's not strict at all, Cammy and Billy pretty much do what they want, you know that." He smiled, "or they would if it weren't for the Parent Squad around here." The smile faded as he considered why Lily would be asking that question, "Why? What's going on?"

"Don't you think that's a little weird? I mean, a good parent wouldn't just let their kids run wild like that."

"Well, I figured there was a reason they practically lived over here." Brent gave her a sardonic look. He wasn't aware that this wasn't common information.

"I'm being serious, Brent!"

"I know you are Lily. So am I." Brent shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment before looking at her seriously, and she was struck that for such a smart-ass, hyper kid, sometimes he could look wise beyond his years. "We're lucky Lily. Even with Dad pulling his disappearing act, we've been so lucky. Not everyone has good parents; even the people that really love their kids aren't always good at it. And not every parent loves their kid. Letting them run wild is far from the worst thing their mom could do." Brent cocked his head to the side, studying his sister, "But you're about to tell me it's not the worst thing she's done aren't you?"

Lily nodded, taking a deep breath, "Lexi came to me today, and told me some things Cammy had shared with her. It made me look at some things that have happened over the years we've known them differently. Combined with something very disturbing Billy told us this morning, I'm getting worried."

"What does that mean?" Brent's voice rose a bit in anxiety, "Very disturbing? Is she-she can't be hurting them, I've never seen any marks on Cammy, and trust me I would have."

"No, you wouldn't have, I don't think there being beaten, or abused like that. By the way, if you're seeing that much of Cammy-condoms, use them." Brent spluttered a bit, blushing, but waited for his sister to go on, "I think she neglects them, basically completely ignores them, and has been since they were little. Like, really little Brent. An-d, that she's been verbally and emotionally bashing on at least Billy, if not both of them, for the last couple of years. Maybe longer." Lily clenched and unclenched her hands reflexively from where they rested on her knees, blinking back tears.

"What-well, what do we do?" Brent was upset, but his face was resolved. That there must be something they could do, he was sure of. He'd had it drilled into his head since he was small; they took care of their own, come hell or high water.

"I'm still trying to decide whether to tell anybody but you what Lexi told me." Lily blushed at the "are you crazy" look Brent shot her.

"Lily-if you don't tell, I'm gonna have too. And since you didn't tell me any details, I'll wind up spilling that I learned it from you. I'm not good at that stuff, there is a reason I'm never the one giving excuses."

Lily nodded reluctantly-Brent was a really horrible liar, he got all flustered and talked too long, giving ridiculous details no one else would bother with. "Okay, I _know_ I have to, just doesn't mean I want to. I've had enough long, emotional talking to last me a lifetime."

"Well, I can hear Uncle Gav's truck thundering to a stop outside, so if you want to make a getaway, the noise should cover your exit." Brent grinned, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, and Lily stood up, reaching over to muss Brent's hair, making him squawk and cover his head in protest.

"Don't worry, brat, I'm not going anywhere."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy wandered out on the front porch, bored. She'd set the table, just to have something to do, but Rick and Lexi were doing everything else and didn't really need her help. Momma Lynn was upstairs with Billy, and she hadn't a clue where Brent and Lily had gone. She settled herself onto the top of the steps, figuring she might as well wait for Uncle Gavriil and Mister Theo.

Cammy loved it when the whole family got together like this, but ordinarily it was for a happier reason. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees, hugging herself after a fashion. Billy had been so _still,_ when she'd peeked in at him, a pale, unmoving lump lying in the bed. Cammy tried to push the tears back, she wasn't a little kid anymore, but for a moment it was just too hard.

She knew she should have told someone something was wrong earlier. Cammy wasn't stupid, she hadn't known what was going on, but she knew it was something serious. She knew it. Yet, what did she do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Billy had taken care of her for her whole life, as long as she could remember. Sure, she did her best to take care of him too, but it wasn't quite the same. Billy had always been bigger and stronger, he didn't need her the way she needed him.

He'd needed her this time. And she'd done nothing.

A few minutes later when the truck pulled around the corner, Cammy hurriedly dried her eyes and pasted a smile on her face. When Mister Theo climbed out of the truck, she waved at him and then went down the driveway to greet him.

"Well there's my baby girl!" Mister Theo hugged her enthusiastically, making Cammy smile for real, but it didn't keep the sharp-eyed old man from seeing the red rims around her eyes when he pulled back, "Tough day, huh honey?"

"Oh, I'm fine, just allergies." Even if her lip hadn't started wobbling on the last word, no one would have believed her, and Theo drew her back into his arms, rocking just a bit.

"Now, now, don't you lie to your Mister Theo, darling. Everybody gets upset and cries sometimes; and you have plenty of reason right now. But don't you worry, honey, your brothers gonna be just fine. Just fine, you hear? We're a family, we take care of each other, and Billy is gonna be just fine. Mister Theo is going to make sure of that, I promise." Cammy had her head tucked against Theo's chest crying quietly and he rubbed gently at her back, still rocking, "It's gonna be alright, baby girl."

Gavriil coming around the front of the truck, stopped and leaned against the hood, watching the two of them together. Theo had a special touch with all the kids, but his bond with Cammy and Billy was something special, and it went beyond them simply being the babies of the family.

As Cammy laughed at something her granddad-and her granddad he was, blood or not-said and straightened up, a new ease in her shoulders, Gavriil thought that they just might get through this intact after all.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*

*.*

A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! I forgot to ask in the last one, how does everyone like Uncle Gav and Mister Theo? I am adoring Mister Theo, and looking forward to exploring his character. Everyone should have a Mister Theo, lol.

And thank you very much to all my reviewers. You make me very happy. Rosa your constructive criticism, and then continued follow up response on my changes is especially appreciated.


	7. Rick's Rebellion

A/N: Major updates changes to this chapter! Pretty much a whole new chapter! Only the first scene is the same, the rest is all new material and our flashback chapter now starts in chapter eight. Please read, or be prepared to be very confused. Thank you for your patience!

*.*.*.*.*.*

"So you knew about this yesterday, not much past seven, and you didn't even try and contact your brother and me until today?" Theo shook his head at the woman he considered his oldest, "Lynnie…"

"I know Theo, I'm sorry, I just went into this sort of auto-pilot, panic mode and-" Lynn still sat on the end of Billy's bed, Theo at the head of it in a chair Gavriil had dragged over from the corner of the room, before ducking out to give them privacy.

"I'm sure that was part of it. But I know you Lynnie, and I know how you get." The old man looked knowingly at her, his eyes sad. "We're not going anywhere, if you need something from us, from me. Nobodies gonna run away and leave you on your own, honey. You don't have to deal with everything yourself, it's still my job to take care of you and those kids, and it will be for as long as I'm able. Ain't nothing gonna change that."

Lynn closed her eyes for just a moment. Dammit, why was he always right? She hadn't wanted to admit it even to herself, but that old fear of being abandoned had affected her judgment. It was unfair, both to her family and herself, but it was _always_ there. After another moment of silence Theo continued, saying "Did you hear me, Lynnie?" in a soft voice.

"Yes Theo, I hear you." She opened her eyes again and met his, trying to smile ruefully and utterly failing, "You're right and I'm sorry. I just…" She shook her head, and succeeded at the rueful smile this time, "I don't know, it's nothing I guess." Theo gave her a look that said "bull" loud and clear, but just slid his chair a little further down the bedside, reaching out to clasp her hand and squeeze it.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil smiled as he stood in the kitchen doorway watching Lexi and Rick work together, neither of them having noticed him yet. It was a task that the two had performed many times together, and one they enjoyed as well, and you could see it in the easy, fluid way they moved around the kitchen together, talking and joking as they traded kitchen utensils back and forth as needed, arguing over altering the recipe. He chuckled and gave himself away when Lexi threw a piece of carrot at Rick and he deflected it back with a rubber spatula, sending it flying across the room to land in front of Lynn's ancient sheep dog, who woke up just long enough to eat it before promptly falling back asleep.

As the kids looked up, he quirked an eyebrow at them, "Did I interrupt a food fight?" smiling easily as they laughed and denied his claim, Rick pointing at Lexi in the universally understood "she did it" sign, and prompting her to throw another chunk of carrot at him, this time succeeding in hitting him in the chest. "Did I _start _a food fight?" He questioned a second later, when Rick retaliated by chucking a piece of broccoli at Lexi, missing only because she moved her head to the side, "Alright, alright, guys let's stop before our whole dinner ends up on the floor."

This might have been said in a joking tone, but wasn't entirely a joke-a three-bean salad had once been strewn across the kitchen after the two had argued about what kind of vinegar to add to the sauce. To this day they refused to admit who had actually thrown the salad-Gav was fairly certain it had been a game of tug of war gone bad, but with those two you never knew.

"We're done, promise." Rick said, even as he discreetly flicked the bit of carrot he'd rescued from the floor, under the guise of washing it, at Lexi's back.

"Uh-huh. I see that. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you for a moment, Rick, if Lexi can hold things down in here."

The girl in question looked slightly insulted that her skills were being debated, but shrugged it off with a "Sure."

Rick hesitated for a moment, before turning towards her and rattling off a list of instructions at a far greater speed than he normally used, "Okay, so, just get the carrots and broccoli seasoned and into the oven at 400, remember to set the timer for twenty minutes, any longer and they'll be mushy by the time the casserole is done. Start on the sauce while they're cooking. Remember whisk the flour into the butter and let it cook for just a bit before you add the milk-" Lexi, who had been listening fairly patiently, if clearly trying very hard not to roll her eyes, interrupted at this point.

"Or it won't set up right, I _know_ Rick. We've made macaroni and cheese casserole, like, a bajillion times." She made a shooing gesture, and Rick made it halfway to the door before he turned back unable to resist giving a few more last minute instructions.

"The chicken's thawing in the microwave, just put it on two in the big frying pan when it's done, and the already shredded cheese is in the back of the veggie drawer, I don't know why, but I saw it earlier-" Lexi threw a dish towel at him, and then turned back to the cutting board she was using deciding it would be easier to just get back to work.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick leaned against the side of the house next to his uncle in a semi-comfortable silence, looking out at the twilight and waiting for the older man to speak. "Are you doing alright, with what happened with Billy?" Gavriil's tone was concerned, and Rick found himself surprised at the question. He was doing just fine, and had figured Uncle Gav wanted to ask him a question about Billy, or maybe let him in on the plan for Mayfeather he was sure they had started already.

Even if it probably wasn't as violent as he'd been hoping for.

"I'm okay, its Billy you should be worrying about." He said this with complete honesty and a hint of confusion, and Gavriil found himself thinking that the boy took far too much after Lynn in some ways, both of them always insisting they were just fine, and that any attention would be better spent on someone else.

"I can worry about two people at once, and Billy is upstairs asleep, doing just fine for now. I want to talk about you." Rick continued to look a bit lost, and Gavriil prompted him, "I know you found him, and that obviously wasn't easy, and Lynn told me you were really upset when Billy told you about Mayfeather yesterday." Rick had to nod, and supposed he was beginning to see what his uncle was getting at. He still thought it was a bit overkill though.

"More like pissed as all hell," The two shared a commiserating grin, Rick's with a bit of an edge to it as he thought about how broken Billy had been. He shifted a bit, and trying to sound casual spoke up again, "So what do you think about how I handled it? When I caught him, I mean?" Since he'd found out exactly what happened he'd been wondering if he'd been too hard on Billy. It was one thing to whup his ass for doing something so stupid of his own choice, but it was pretty clear he'd been coerced into using at first. Yet, there sure as hell hadn't been anyone coercing him at the creek, so…

Rick had no idea whether he'd done the right thing or not, and the fact that he knew he couldn't take it back whether he had or not was just making him even more conflicted.

Gavriil studied Rick for a long moment, noticing the stiffness of his shoulders and the way his left thumb tapped rhythmically against his jeans where his hand rested halfway into his pocket, and sighed under his breath. Lynn was right; it was easy to see that the boy felt at least a little bit unsure about what had happened, a little out of his depth, despite the pretense he was trying to put up, even now when finally asking for a bit of reassurance. He slid along the wall just enough so he could bump his shoulder lightly into Rick's, "I think you did just fine, Rick, just fine. In fact, I'm proud of how you handled it. Lynn told me you were great with him during your talk today as well, that he seemed willing to open up more with you next to him. Maybe whupping him wasn't the most…common choice, but I think it was the right way with Billy."

Rick shrugged, looking aimlessly into the backyard, "I thought so at first too, but now I'm not so sure. This thing with Mayfeather…I thought it was a stupid choice gone out of control, but having him involved complicates things. A lot of it wasn't Billy's fault." Gavriil was frowning now, but it was clear Rick had more to say so he stayed quiet. Rick rubbed at his face for a moment, before continuing, sounding drained, "And…I was so angry Uncle Gav. Furious. Basically, I lost my temper and hit my brother, and for something that wasn't even really his fault. And now I'm being praised for it."

"That's absolute crap." Gav stated it flatly, matter of factly, "If you had hit your brother-if you _ever_ hit your baby brother-you and I would be having a _very _different talk right now, have no doubt about that." When Rick just continued to stare straight ahead, shrugging again, Gavriil reached out and tugged him over, turning the boy to face him as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, look at me, I'm serious. You spanked your brother, whupped his butt, you didn't hit him or cause him any sort of lasting damage. You wouldn't. I'm told Billy shoved you yesterday, pretty hard and well you were already off balance. What did you do when he did that?" Rick looked at his Uncle Gav dubiously.

"You already know, don't you?"

"Yeah I do, but humor me. I want to hear it in your own words."

Rick sighed, thinking this was stupid, but, knowing how stubborn his uncle could be it would be easier just to go along with it, "Okay. I took a step back, 'cause I was pretty sure I'd been crowding and intimidating him without realizing it. He'd pretty much scared himself out of his fit when he shoved me, and said he was sorry. I told him it was okay, but if he did it again I would swat him. Then I hugged him, 'cause that kid has eyes straight out of an anime."

"So you didn't take a swing at him or shove him back, even though he shoved you first?"

Rick glared at his uncle, he got the point he was trying to make, but even knowing he wasn't asking the question in earnest he felt himself getting offended. "Of course not! He caught me off guard, and, for not even half a second, maybe, my body wanted to shove him back, but I just couldn't, no way, not once my brain processed that it was Billy. I mean it wasn't even like he really meant to do it-and I would never punch him, not seriously, not for _real_." Rick had turned his head back to look out over the backyard as he spoke, but even from the side Gav could see he looked a little ill at just the thought.

"I know you wouldn't Ricky." Gavriil ignored the boy's mumbled "don't call me Ricky", and kept on talking, "And even when you caught Billy down at the creek smoking _meth,_ and must have been beyond angry, I still know that you would never have actually hurt your brother. You disciplined your brother. You didn't hurt him. Frankly, there have been more than a few times over the years your Granddad has told me I ought to tan one or more of you, and once or twice I've seriously considered it. You didn't do anything wrong, didn't do anything I might not have done in the same situation." Rick tried not to look absolutely disbelieving at that-he had the feeling his uncle wouldn't appreciate it-but he couldn't help it. Uncle Gav just wasn't the type. He could be a hard ass when it was warranted, that was for sure, but Rick was certain that if he had been the type to dish out a whupping his own teenage years would have involved a lot less sitting down. Luckily, Gav did not notice the not-entirely-respectful incredulous look his nephew shot him.

"As for him no longer being at fault because of Mayfeather…the simple answer to that is hell no. Billy's situation might be complicated by that bastard, but he still made his own choices and needs to face up to them. It did change things, yes, but not to that degree. You did the right thing Rick. He needed something to shock him back to reality, a clear line had to be drawn so your brother knows what can be accepted and what can't, and that's exactly what you did. Right?" He watched Rick nod reluctantly in agreement for a moment before going on, "I don't think it's any secret that Billy is insecure in general, and the fact that you choose to punish him in a personal, physical way, something that only family would do, seems to have actually helped that somewhat."

Rick looked a little pleased at this, but mostly doubtful. "How so?"

"Well, when I talked to him he didn't once suggest that he was too much bother, or that we would be better off forgetting about him. For Billy, when he's in big trouble, that's progress. Your Momma Lynn said that well there were a few times he seemed to think someone else was going to say something like that to him during your talk, he never actually said it himself."

"Huh. Is the fact that that's progress makes me want to punch someone in the face normal?"

Gavriil snorted and responded, "Well if it's not normal, then our whole family is strange. Your grandfather tried to get me to start a bar fight with him today." As Rick grinned at the utter awesomeness that was Mister Theo, Gavriil was struggling with what to say next. There was a heavy pause as Rick picked up on the tension from his uncle and the grin faded from his face, "Starting a bar fight, or punching someone in the face isn't going to help Billy though. I know you want to go after Mayfeather, and I don't blame you, but-"

Rick broke in, his temper flaring up, "But we're just going to do nothing, is that it? Fucking figures."

Gav turned towards his nephew, eyes flashing, "But there is more than one way to destroy a man." He eyed the boy seriously, and when he saw an apology wasn't coming his way, leaned forward, getting slightly into Rick's space, who for his part tried to act like he was entirely unaffected by the movement, "You can be angry all you want Rick, but you don't talk to me like that. You hear me?" Rick broke eye contact, looking to the side, but did not respond. "Rick?"

Rick huffed, making Gavriil narrow his eyes, but mumbled an annoyed sounding, "I hear you."

"Better." Gavriil continued to study his nephew as he spoke, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing in both reassurance and warning, "You know, I wasn't going to bring this up, but now I think I have to. I'm sure you know your Momma told me about you deciding to run off after Mayfeather on your own, and as pleased as I am about how you handled Billy, that's about how upset I am about that Rick. I'm not happy you tried to go off without even forming a plan, it's nothing but a good way to get yourself killed, and your mother's right, it won't be tolerated. You didn't bring any sort of back-up. You didn't even tell anyone you were leaving, if something had happened we wouldn't have known, or been able to do anything to help. I'd ask you what the hell you were thinking, but I'm sure I already know the answer."

Rick broke in, "Is this where you give me the "You weren't thinking talk? Because I think I have it memorized by now." The sarcasm in Rick's voice was enough to set Gavriil off, and the dismissiveness was even worse. Gavriil felt his shoulders clench against their will and sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself to wait a long moment before responding, sure the vain in the back of his neck that Theo liked to tease him about was throbbing.

"I thought Lynn was exaggerating the attitude you gave her, but I can see she wasn't. That we expect better of you should go without saying. It stops, and it stops now, Richard." There was a long pause, and he continued, voice low and serious, "I would like to hear at least a "Yes, Uncle" out of you, and preferably an apology as well."

"Whatever," Rick mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, jerking his shoulder out from under his uncle's hand and starting to walk away. He made it all of about two steps before Gavriil had him neatly by the collar, dragging him back in front of him.

"That is enough! Rick, what in the world is going on? Why are you acting like this?" Rick attempted to extricate himself from his uncle's grip, and earned himself a mild shake.

"Because, I'm fucking pissed, okay? Because no one is doing a damn thing about this, and you won't let me handle it either, and it's all fucking bullshit, I'm not some pussy little shit who can't handle himself." He seemed more incredibly frustrated and sulky to Gavriil, even as he spat angry words in his face, but he choose not to comment on that.

"So you choose to throw a tantrum?" Rick glared fully at his uncle for his choice of words, but Gav just stared back-that was exactly what Rick had been doing and he saw no reason to sugarcoat it to save his pride.

"I am not!" Rick didn't _quite _shout it, but his voice was so vehement he might as well have, and Gavriil began to think the boy was testing him, pushing him to lose his temper on purpose. Why he was choosing now of all times to do so, he had no idea.

Actually…actually, as he looked at Rick, his face flushed with a mixture of nerves and defiance, it suddenly occurred to Gavriil that he was pretty sure he knew what the reason was. He should have seen it sooner. It was the same reason the younger man had always had-he needed Gavriil to prove that he was willing and able to do everything Rick could do for the family, and what's more that he could do it for Rick as well.

That he wouldn't leave, or abandon his responsibilities, couldn't be scared away no matter what.

When he had first moved back home, after leaving twelve years before, Rick had clearly felt that Gavriil was usurping a role that was at least partially his. That part of the boy had been obviously desperate for someone to take on the role hadn't mattered, Rick hadn't been sure Gavriil could do so properly, and hadn't been sure it was worth taking the risk.

He'd done just about everything a fourteen year old could possibly do to drive him away, enlisting his brothers and sisters where he could, and even after Gavriil had been certain the children actually wanted him to stay, the tests kept coming-less often, and they seemed more designed to see how far they could push him before he _would_ leave, rather than to chase him away, but still they had kept coming in various forms. It had taken a long time to build up the children's trust in him, far longer than it had taken for them to decide they liked him. He rather thought they had moved past this, but obviously this latest disaster had pushed Rick back into the mindspace where it was his job to fix things, and his alone, and he needed Gavriil to prove otherwise.

That, and he thought perhaps his earlier comment on how Rick hadn't done anything Gav himself might not have done was being tested-at least as far as he could see that was exactly what Rick's behavior was designed to push him to do.

He wasn't sure if Rick was conscious of what he was asking for, but if he didn't quit it was exactly what he was going to get. It might have been years since this had happened, but he still remembered how to deal with it-Rick needed to be met head on; to know that no matter how hard he pushed Gavriil would stay steady.

Very, very softly, he spoke, black eyes locked steadily on Rick's angry honey orbs, "Rick that is enough. I don't blame you for being angry, but you aren't allowed to act like this and you know it. At the moment you are not in trouble, but if you do not stop you will be. This is your last warning. If you do not quit pushing me, and change your attitude, you just might find for yourself what a sore ass feels like, you hear me?" Gavriil was hanging onto his patience by a thread, doing his best to keep his voice and face stern, but not to let his anger show. God, but this boy knew how to push every one of his buttons.

Rick swallowed as he looked at his uncle, Gavriil's hand still gripping him firmly by the collar, and for a moment it seemed that he might give in. Then he licked his lips and squared his shoulders and looked his uncle in the eye as he boldly stated, "You ain't gonna do shit." The moment he said it Gavriil's face transformed, clearly furious, and Rick suddenly lost his nerve, paling as he tried to dart away from his uncle, forgetting until he was brought short that the man had never released his grip on him.

Gavriil growled as Rick tried for the second time that night to run away from him. He had had more than enough of this, and jerked the boy back to him, letting go of his collar only to grab him around the waist, turning him sideways as he pulled him in front of him. Rick cursed whoever had decided to leave the base of the old water pump in the ground as his uncle propped his foot up on it and pushed Rick down over his knee. He caught himself on the side of the house and tried to push himself up, but then one of Gavriil's arms was pressing heavily into his back, and try as he might he couldn't get enough leverage. Just as Rick opened his mouth to apologize/threaten/plead with his Uncle (he wasn't really sure which), Gavriil's hand came flying down and Rick jumped, biting back a howl as it connected right in the middle of his left ass cheek, landing with a tremendously loud *Smack*. Okay, there was no way he'd hit Billy that hard!

He tensed but was still unprepared for the next smack, which seemed to come almost immediately and couldn't hold back the gasp of air that seemed to rush out of his lips involuntarily. Jesus Christ, that had fucking hurt. Rick decided that if this didn't end soon he was going to embarrass himself, and well begging wasn't exactly dignified it would still be better than bawling. He opened his mouth only to let out a yelp as he was smacked again, right where he sat, if anything even harder than before. "Uncle…" His breath hitched, and he almost choked on his next word, "Ple-ase." Gavriil smacked him once more before stopping and resting his hand on his nephew's leg.

"Are you going to stop with the attitude and listen to me?" Rick frantically nodded his head and Gavriil decided to accept that as a "Yes". "Are you going to stay away from Mayfeather, let us decide what's to be done as a family, and not go after him yourself?" Rick hesitated and Gavriil prompted him, "Rick?"

"I don't know!" Rick didn't sound defiant now so much as desperate, but Gav shook his head. He understood that the boy was conflicted but he couldn't accept that for an answer. He hesitated himself, before bringing his hand down firmly on the right side of Rick's previously untouched thighs, doing his best to ignore the hurt look he tossed him over his shoulder.

"Well you better figure it out, because you're not getting up until you do." He let his voice carry some of his anger in it, but left his hand lying still on Rick's leg. He was pretty sure Rick just needed another moment to think-he was stubborn, not stupid.

"Okay, okay, I won't! You win." Gavriil sighed and lifted his arm off of Rick's back, helping him to his feet. Rick immediately tried to step back from his uncle but Gavriil kept his grip on him steady, not rubbing his back as he knew it wouldn't be appreciated but not moving his hand away either, a solid presence in the small of his nephew's back. He hadn't missed the trace of bitterness in Rick's last phrase.

"This wasn't about winning Rick. This was about keeping you safe the best way I know how-and yes about disrespect, but the fact that you were being flippant about such a serious issue is what really set me off. You're a grown man, mostly anyway, and you live out on your own where I can't always watch you, can't always keep you safe. Most of the time I don't have too, I know you can be trusted to do the right thing. But your temper has always been a problem for you Ricky, and you don't think straight when you're mad like this."

Rick was stiff and awkward, and yes, still a bit angry, though not nearly so much as he had been before Gavriil's words. He nodded, looking at the wall rather than Gavriil. "You've never done that before." He muttered it quietly, still staring at the white siding.

"You've never pushed me that far before." Rick shot his uncle a quick look of disbelief-he remembered a few instances when he was a teenager that at least rivaled tonight-before averting his eyes again. "And anyway, I've swatted you once before."

Rick couldn't help but look at his uncle then in bemusement-he was fairly certain he would have remembered that. He wondered for a minute if he was going to hear a story of his very early childhood, before Uncle Gavriil had left Springside with Aunt Sarah, but when his uncle began to talk quickly realized that wasn't the case.

"It was about a month after your eighteenth birthday, and I'm not surprised you don't remember because you were stinking drunk at the time." Gavriil was speaking fondly, reminiscently, but Rick was cringing, because well big gaps of that night were missing, he did know what his uncle was talking about.

He remembered thinking it would be a good idea to drive to his Uncle Gav's in the middle of the night after drowning his sorrows over a fight with Lily. He'd woken his Uncle when he'd taken a nasty tumble into the garbage cans in his attempt to walk up the driveway, but it got blurry right around then. Other than that he mostly remembered being pissed at himself the next morning when he'd lost his car keys for three months. Also-scolding someone who has a hangover should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

"You got mad that I was mad at you, and tried to get back in your car and drive off. When I tried to take your keys away you took a swing at me, so I turned you around and popped your butt about three times. Didn't give me a bit of trouble after that."

"I bet." Rick tried to be nonchalant, but there was enough light left that the red in his face couldn't be hidden.

"What, were you worried you gave me the idea?" Gavriil teased, and Rick laughed ruefully, running his hands through his hair.

"Oh god, Momma Lynn gave you the details, huh?"

"Of course she did. Apparently a spatula is a handy thing to have." Rick groaned, and Gavriil patted him on the back, laughing softly.

"I'm going to hear about this for years, aren't I?"

"Yes, yes, I imagine you are. You know, this was always a possibility Rick, but I suppose I can see why you thought it wouldn't be." Gavriil had let Rick go by now, and he was leaning against the house again with Gavriil facing him, "Frankly we're not a very strict family, in fact I'd say you all run more than a bit wild, and have been pretty much your whole lives. Which is fine with me for the most part, keeps you happy, and seems to keep you out of worse mischief-you kids have always seemed to have a fairly good idea where the line is, and the few times you've crossed it we've dealt with it fairly easily, since you all generally seem to understand when you've gone too far. It's not often one of you puts yourself in danger, it's not something I've dealt with often, and generally it's accidental. I can count on one hand the times one of has purposely put yourself in danger. That doesn't change the fact that it's not something I will tolerate-and the same goes for you basically outright telling me you're going to do something dangerous you've been forbidden to do." Rick opened his mouth to protest-he'd never _actually_ said that-but Gav cut him off with a look. "No, no semantics from you today. You know very well it was what you were implying."

Rick just shrugged again, and then nodded after a second; it was what he'd been implying and his uncle would have had to be an idiot not to see it.

It was still what he was intending.

Gavriil looked at Rick for a long moment and then questioned, "Am I going to have to worry about this anymore? Or are we good?"

Rick looked him seriously in the eyes, saying "Yeah, Uncle Gav, we're good." Gavriil smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good, good boy. You ready to head in? As particular as you were being earlier, I figured you'd want to get back to the kitchen and make sure Lexi hasn't changed anything." Rick nodded, slowly turning towards the back door.

"Yeah, every time we make this she's always wanting to add a ton of garlic to the sauce. I swear," He looked over his shoulder at Gavriil as he pulled open the screen door, "your kid is like, completely obsessed with garlic."

Gavriil nodded, "She's been reading, something about health benefits. Everything she's cooked lately either has garlic or blueberries in it, although since I like both I'm not complaining." Just as Rick was turning the handle his uncle spoke again, "You know you're my kid too."

Rick swallowed, feeling the first stab of guilt for lying to his uncle, but pushed it away. "Of course," He turned back around, pausing in opening the door, "I wouldn't let just anyone smack my ass." He grinned cockily, pleased when Gav laughed at his comment. "You hit freakin' _hard_ by the way."

"I didn't want to have to swat you more than a few times, but I still wanted to get my point across. And honestly Ricky," Gavriil shrugged matter of factly, "you were really, really pushing my buttons."

"More like stomping on 'em, I know." He hesitated for a second, almost tempted to tell his uncle what he had planned, even if it did get him in more trouble…

"Something else on your mind Rick?" Rick forced a smile for Gavriil, shaking his head.

"Nah, just still a little embarrassed honestly. Could, we, you know, not tell anyone about this?"

Gavriil rocked back on his heels, considering this. He wasn't in the habit of sharing his private conversations with his children with others, but this was a little different than normal. Lynn and Theo would probably want to know, and were likely to be annoyed that he hadn't told them if it came out later. Yet…he was certain Rick would not be foolhardy enough to cross him on this, not with how he'd just been punished.

"I suppose I could do that."

Rick flashed him a brief, but genuine smile this time; all forgiven for the moment at least, "Cool Uncle Gav, thanks. Umm…do you think you could maybe help me ask Momma Lynn for my car keys back?" He sped up his words for the next bit, anticipating his uncle's refusal, "It's just Lily's truck is still all loaded with Brent's stuff, and we have to get home somehow."

Gavriil shook his head, chuckling, "Oh no, sorry, but that is between you and Lynnie, I'm not interfering there."

Rick looked at him for a minute, before pulling out his secret weapon, one that went against his sense of pride, but almost always worked. "….please?" Gavriil couldn't help but ruffle Rick's hair as the boy pouted at him, widening his eyes.

"The puppy-dog eyes trick hasn't worked in years Rick. You're on your own with this one, Malysh." He pushed past his nephew, going into the house, still chuckling as he walked down the hallway.

"It worked longer with you than it did with anyone else!" Rick called after him, stepping in and pulling the back door shut behind him. He better get back in the kitchen and see what Lexi had done to his casserole…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent poked his head into the guest room, looking for his mother and smiled to see that Lily was in there as well, along with Mister Theo. Assuming this meant Lily had already passed on the information she shared with him, he spoke up, "Oh good, so you already told them? I was starting to worry that you were going to chicken out after all."

Lynn and Theo exchanged looks of confusion at this non-sequitur, the look of absolute death that Lily shot her brother not going unnoticed. "Told us what?" Mister Theo questioned, an eyebrow raising as Lily blushed, fumbling for an answer.

"Oh, well-"

"That we're having macaroni and cheese casserole!" Brent blurted out, "I just, I thought we were going to have spaghetti, and I hate that you know, and so I was excited and wanted to share with all of you…" He trailed off at the incredulous looks his mother and grandfather were shooting him, Lily having buried her head in her hands in a mixture of despair and sympathetic mortification at his fumbling. "I just…Macaroni is great!" He then fled the room at top speed.

There was silence for a minute, and then Lily raised her head from its buried position, taking in the "what the hell?" faces that were rapidly transforming into suspicious "what did you do?" faces. "So just for the record, before I tell you what Brent was on about, I was most definitely going to tell you this later today, after dinner. I know now isn't the time for keeping secrets, and that wasn't my intention."

"Hmmm," Lynn said, the hand that had been continuously rearranging Billy's blankets moving to fold itself neatly in her lap with the other, as she appraised her daughter, "Just for the record, I believe you, that you were intending to tell us about whatever this is later. But now is not the time to keep secrets for _any _length of time, and I think you know that. Don't you?"

"Yes ma'am," Lily faced her mother head on, her blush still staining her cheeks but face otherwise composed, "I do. There weren't really a lot of opportunities earlier, but I suppose I should have told you when I first came up here. It's just today has been hectic to say the least, and I didn't want to disturb the piece."

Theo interrupted now, "Can we drop the discussion of not keeping secrets and just hear the actual secret please?" Lynn, whose mouth had already been opening to answer Lily when Theo spoke, shut it for a second time at the mild look he sent her way. He didn't say it out loud, but she was sure the words "a time and place, a time and place" were meant to be heard in that look, and she simply nodded for her daughter to go on.

"Lexi came to me after lunch, and told me that she'd talked to Cammy about, well their mother," She gestured reluctantly to the boy in the bed, part of her feeling like just acknowledging the fact that he wasn't her blood brother was a betrayal, "and, well Cammy didn't tell her much, really, but she basically said their mother ignores them. Neglects them, and puts on an act for others. And is apparently "worse" to Billy and "talks mean to him" but that could mean so many different things I don't even know where to start. But mostly, she just isn't there most of the time, and doesn't make time for them when she is. Pays the bills and not much else. I don't know for sure, but considering how often they actually admit to us she's out of town for work or something, and that knowing all of this, I'm sure they've been covering up a lot of stuff…I'm not sure if she's in town for more than a week or so every month, maybe an extra day here and there."

Lily took a deep breath, and let herself take in the others facial expressions-they were pissed of course, her mother's hand having left her lap to clutch at Billy's leg again, and Mister Theo had his eyes closed, face tight, "Lexi said that Cammy implied that it wasn't so bad when they were little…but I don't know if I believe it. Do you remember when they first started coming over? They were both so independent, especially Billy, used to doing things for themselves. Do you remember when he scraped his knee so bad? We ran to get you Momma, me and Brent, because it was bleeding terribly, but by the time we got you, Billy had gotten himself up and into the bathroom, washing his knee and not entirely sure what the big deal was. He was using the first aid kit tweezers to pull little bits of gravel out of his knee, _calmly. _What kind of eight year old does that?"

Lynn nodded, she remembered, very well, and had been more than a little disturbed herself-children did not tend to have that high of a pain tolerance, and either way weren't often stoic when dealing with their own blood. She had honestly worried-once she'd determined he wasn't in some type of shock-that he was being abused in some way, to be so blasé about such a painful injury. Something had been obviously _wrong. _Yet, she had seen him running about in nothing but cut-offs and sneakers for weeks at a time when the weather had been warm enough.

There had never been any marks or bruises, and both he and Cammy had seemed well-nourished, if a bit affection starved. Their clothes had always been weather appropriate, if worn, and as clean as could be expected with small, active children. She'd watched very carefully after that, looking for anything truly off, but it was not as though she could report Dawn Knox for not hugging her children enough, for not expressing the proper amount of pride in their small accomplishments. So she'd kept on watching, not sure what else to do, and in the meantime had showered as much affection on the two as she could.

Even knowing what she did now Lynn was not sure there was much she could have done. Neglect of any type was very hard to prove, and when food, clothing and shelter were all provided, well it would have been difficult to get anything to stick...Lynn looked up as Theo spoke, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"He would cut up her hotdogs for her when they first started coming into the soda fountain." Theo choked up as he said it, bowing his head, "They were both such little things…and he was already playing parent to Cammy, at six years old. I asked them once how they got there-once I knew where they lived I knew it was really too far for them to walk all by themselves. Billy made up some story about how they walked over from the beauty parlor every Saturday well his mother got her hair done-it would have been a good story if they hadn't been walking up from the opposite direction." Theo ran a hand over his face, head still bent, pressing it to his eyes before he spoke again, "He bandaged up his own knee because he'd never had anyone to do it for him before, and he didn't come up to us about Mayfeather because even though he's been a member of this family for over half his life we will never be able to erase all the times he had no choice but to fend for himself." Theo stood unexpectedly and walked out of the room, pausing only to squeeze Lily's shoulder and murmur, "Thank you for telling us, honey." before he disappeared out the door.

Lily turned to her mother to ask her what to do next, but Brent chose that moment to holler up the stairs about supper, and as their eyes met Lynn smiled sadly, and gestured with her hand towards the door before standing herself, "Come on love, let's go get washed up."

Lily stood, then said quietly, "Momma, what do we do? This-this can't just be ignored."

Lynn took a step closer to her daughter and carded a hand through her hair, "Everything will be just fine, baby, but it's not for you to do something about alright? Let the grown-ups handle this one. I promise, it will not be ignored." Lily opened her mouth to protest this, but Lynn spoke over her, "If it makes you feel any better we've already decided we're going to try and arrange for Billy and Cammy to come and live either here or with your Uncle Gav."

Lily eyed her mother a bit critically, "How? It's not going be that easy."

"You let us worry about that, alright?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Brent," called Gav through the living room entrance to his nephew, who was sitting on the couch looking rather shell-shocked and embarrassed for some reason, "Go let everyone upstairs know that dinner is ready, and then wash up, alright?"

Brent looked at him, and his blush getting even deeper, sputtered out, "Uh, actually, I'd rather not. Couldn't somebody else do it?" Gav stared back at him, annoyed and a bit mystified that such a simple request was being refuted. Brent had started squirming as he kept his eyes on him, and he waited a few more seconds before he spoke.

"No, because I asked you." Brent opened his mouth to protest again and Gavriil help up a hand, silencing him, "Just go Brent." The boy grumbled but got to his feet, crossing the room and stepping through the opening into the hallway with his uncle's eyes following him the whole time. As he disappeared down the hallway in the direction of the stairs, Gavriil continued on his own way, heading towards the downstairs bathroom to wash up. As he opened the door he winced as Brent's voice suddenly rang through the house, calling "Momma! Mister Theo! Lily! Supper!", at the top of his lungs from the base of the stairs.

For the love of-as though he couldn't have done that himself.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Alright, everybody, settle down now," Momma Lynn eyed Rick and Lily, who were getting far too cuddly for the dinner table, trying not to smile. Brent, who had shouted "Score!" when he saw the bacon chunks on top of the casserole, thought she was talking to him and straightened up, still kind of nervous from his debacle upstairs. Rick and Lily, on the other didn't even notice till Cammy kicked Rick's ankle under the table. It took them a second to disentangle, and by then the whole table was smirking at the two.

They joined hands around the old well-worn table. Theo was seated at the head and began the grace, but everyone's mind was upstairs on the missing member of their family. No one was surprised when the blessing was more serious than usual, and continued on longer, as Theo began to pray for Billy.

"And we ask you Lord, to please look after our Billy. He is so very dear to us, and we pray that you help him to find his way. Let him feel both your love and our love in his heart. Give us the strength to support him in his struggle, and him the humility to accept that offered strength. For we already know the boy is strong, to have survived what he has. He simply needs the guidance to know how to use his strength to help himself; instead of wasting it in the stubbornness of youth, and the faith to lean on us when he needs to. Let us find forgiveness for ourselves for not having seen his struggles, and do not let us place undue blame on the boy for his actions. Thank you for no longer leaving him to suffer in silence, but allowing us to help him. Please give us the strength to come together and move past this as a family, as you have given us so many times in the past. In the name of our lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen."

"Amen." It echoed around the table, everyone unusually solemn and silent for a moment afterwards. Then Brent's stomach growled, horribly loudly, and Lexi giggled, followed soon after by Cammy, and soon the whole table was roaring, Uncle Gavriil wiping his eyes as Momma leaned on his shoulder just howling, and Mister Theo slapping his knee, laughing with his whole body as he did. Rick picked up a roll out of the bread basket and chucked it at Brent, hitting him in the face and making everyone else laugh harder. Brent just picked up the piece of bread from where it had landed, and took a bite, ripping a hunk off with his teeth.

"F'anks." He swallowed a second later and grinned impudently at Rick, "I was hungry."

Rick gave him a mock salute, grinning, as he said, "I noticed," and then grabbed the serving spoon out of the casserole, scooping up a piece of cheesy broccoli from the top and preparing to take aim. His grin widened when Brent obligingly opened his mouth and leaned back to give him a better chance.

"Boy's-no." Lynn was still laughing, but shaking her head, "Come on now, that's enough."

"I don't know Lynnie-dinner and a show isn't something you get every day," Theo teased, "if the boys get good enough we could have them put on an act at the soda fountain." As Gavriil and the girls about fell over laughing, and the boys gave each other considering looks, Lynn half-mock, half-real glared at Theo.

"No. No giving them ideas."

*.*.*.*.*.*


	8. Flashback Interlude Uno

A/N: Hello folks! Thanks for sticking around long enough to read this!

Chapters 8, 9, 10 are the new versions of chapters 7 & 8 from before. It's mostly the same but there is new material, and of course a bit of rewording here and there. Chapter eleven is the new version of chapter nine, although the ending of that chapter is completely redone because, well the old ending sucked. Chapter twelve is all new and focuses a bit more on some members of the family who haven't had as much screen time.

Hope you enjoy it!

*.*.*.*.*.*

When Billy woke next the sun was hitting his eyes, streaming in from the gap between the curtain rod and the top of the window, like it was high in the sky. He was momentarily disoriented-hadn't he just been outside with Uncle Gav?-but relaxed as he recognized the faded yellow and white daisy border around the top of the guest room walls.

The next moment he realized he was ferociously hungry, but this warred with the fact that he couldn't seem to drum up the effort to move. He did roll over onto his side after a moment, and rather wished he hadn't when he realized Mister Theo was seated at his bedside in the armchair that usually sat by a bookcase in the corner of the room. It was another moment before he noticed that the old man was asleep, a paperback open on his chest. That was a relief. Billy smiled fondly when he saw that the western featured a drawing of a particularly pretty Native girl on the cover-he'd always thought those things were basically romance novels for men.

He shifted in bed again and considered Mister Theo. His granddad was a pretty deep sleeper, but it all depended on how _long _he'd been asleep. If he'd nodded off less than half an hour ago he'd hear Billy if he got up and left the room, but if he'd been out longer than that Billy could probably dance the Macarena on the top of the bed and Theo wouldn't wake up. The question was, was it worth the risk?

He was really hungry though, and kind of had to pee as well. So staying in bed wasn't much of an option.

If they could just pretend nothing had happened Billy wouldn't mind talking to Mister Theo. If they could just talk about the store, or his classes, that would be much, much better.

Hell, he'd listen to every story the old man had to tell, boring ones first, if it meant they could avoid talking about _that._

Billy knew Mister Theo well enough to know he wouldn't push, not if Billy really wasn't up to it, not at first.

But…he also wouldn't let it go for too long, even if he willingly told a few stories along the way.

Billy decided he had to get out of bed, pushing the covers back and scooting down to the end to climb out, so as not to trip over his granddad's outstretched legs. His need to pee was beginning to outweigh his nervousness. As he made it through the doorway he silently cheered, practically running down the hallway to the bathroom.

Still he knew it wouldn't be good to avoid Mister Theo for too long. The last time he'd done that he'd been fifteen, and the old man had finally picked him up after school one day, and taken him fishing, where he _couldn't _avoid him…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy slunk out of the school building, trying not to be noticed. Ordinarily he would meet his friends over by the field gate and they would head off together, to the store, or Momma Lynn's or just to the woods somewhere if it were nice. At the moment though Billy did not want to see anyone, and though they said otherwise he was fairly certain they didn't really want him around either.

He was persona non grata with the whole family right now, including himself.

As he walked down the steps still keeping a wary eye out, so he could head the other way if he caught sight of Brent or Alexis, Billy figured he'd just head to his house. No one would be home all day, Cammy would be spending the night at Momma Lynn's, and playing video games and stuffing Cheetos in his mouth seemed like a good as way as any to wait out his self-imposed isolation.

Deciding the coast was officially clear he turned and began heading down the sidewalk away from school, only to do a double take as he realized a very familiar bike, sidecar and all, was parked by the curb in front of him. An even more familiar person was standing on the sidewalk, holding out his spare helmet with a look on his face that told Billy not to argue.

"Haven't seen as much of you as I would have liked lately, Billy-Boy. I hear from your Momma Lynn and the rest it's the same for them too. What do you say; want to go fishing with your Mister Theo?"

Billy shuffled his feet back and forth, knowing damn well he was expected to say yes, but really wishing he didn't have to. Going fishing with Mister Theo was ordinarily a treat, but all he could think of was that look on Momma Lynn's face, what he'd said to her…

Billy didn't deserve any treats, and he was fairly certain Mister Theo should agree with him.

"Boy, don't think I can't see the wheels turning in that head of yours. Put the helmet on, we're going fishing." Billy took the helmet as it was thrust forward, pulling it on with an eye-roll that Theo graciously ignored.

"Where we going?" Theo raised an eyebrow at the snotty tone as he climbed astride the bike. He knew damn well the attitude was a result of a guilty conscience, and not knowing what to do about it. That didn't mean he was going to put up with it.

"A spot I like by the river, don't think it has a name. You gonna get on behind me, and quit it with the attitude, or do I have to make you?" Billy looked at his Granddad; his arms now crossed over his chest, and figured it would be much less embarrassing to just climb on. There were still lots of people hanging around the building, and he wasn't exactly one of the cool kids as it was.

As he climbed on behind him, Theo grunted in approval, and as soon as he was sure Billy was situated he pulled away, and they were off gliding down the road. He smiled to himself as he felt Billy huff behind him, he might be exasperated with him now, but Theo was sure he'd get over it. The boy had never been one to hold a grudge-except against himself.

For the moment he was holding himself fairly stiff-his arms were wrapped around Theo's middle, and he was leaning into the curves with him like he'd been taught-but Billy wasn't relaxing into his granddad like he usually did, was keeping himself removed. That would probably correct itself before the ride was out, but if not Theo thought fishing, or rather the talking they'd do while fishing, would fix the problem.

If that didn't work, well the old man figured he'd just have to keep trying something different until it did.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Theo snorted in his sleep, twisting slightly as he did so. He might have relaxed back into sleep after that, but his book slipped sideways down his chest, falling so the spine cracked against the edge of the night table, and the noise had him sitting up and looking around startled. After a moment he relaxed back in his chair, laughing at himself a bit as he discovered the book by his feet and saw why he'd woken.

He looked at the bed then, only just noticing it should have been occupied and wasn't. Theo frowned, Billy certainly hadn't had to stay in bed, but it would have made things much simpler. He'd found it was always best with him to get any talking they needed to do done quick, or it would all get blown out of proportion in Billy's head.

As a teenager Theo had had to track him down a time or two, when he seemed to think he'd done something so bad there was no forgiveness for it. Once they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the boy for a week, over something as minor as throwing a temper fit at his Momma Lynn. As though that were the worst thing a child could do.

Now, the doozy that was described to Theo; would have probably gotten the boy's mouth washed out if he'd been there-even now, he wouldn't put up with any of his grandbabies talking to their Momma like that. Didn't change the fact that it was a normal thing all children did a time or two. Boy had disappeared like he thought the FBI was after him.

Well, he supposed that wasn't entirely true. If he recalled correctly, Billy had shown up the next day and apologized to Lynn, but as she'd despaired to Theo, she couldn't seem to get him to understand he was forgiven. Billy hadn't seemed to know what to do afterwards, and despite the other kids trying to draw him into whatever game they'd been up to, he'd apparently slipped away before dinner that night.

Theo had finally had enough when Billy didn't show up for a movie he'd arranged to take the kids too-and Billy had been the one wanting to see it in the first place. He'd taken matters into his own hands at that point.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy shifted and sighed as they went around a bend in the road, far out in the country now. Mister Theo was ambling the aging bike along, and while there wasn't much traffic, what little there was passed them regularly. He hadn't realized that when he said by the river, he meant a good thirty minutes out of town all the way at the end of the river.

Billy looked at the trees as they passed by, letting his thoughts drift as he stared at the changing colors, mottled leaves in various shades of amber, brown, yellow, and even still a bit of green here and there, their branches swaying in the wind, the occasional falling leaf getting pulled this way and that. It had been a dry fall that year so most of the leaves were still on the trees, and even the fallen leaves had a crispness to them, instead of being just a rotting mass on the ground.

It didn't really register with Billy that as he looked, he relaxed and before long he was leaning comfortably into his Granddad's back. Theo noticed of course, and smiled to himself. He knew the ride would help; otherwise he would have just borrowed Gavriil's truck. Getting all his fishing stuff, plus the meal he knew would be necessary with a teenage boy in tow into his sidecar hadn't been the easiest thing in the world.

The problem would be getting Billy to talk once they arrived at his fishing hole. Theo thought he knew what was at the heart of the situation-Billy had scared himself. Thought he'd shaken his place in their family loose, that even if they hadn't kicked him to the curb that he was on unstable ground now. That it was only a matter of time.

Over throwing a goddamned tantrum. He truly thought he'd been permanently disgraced over throwing a damn tantrum. Theo knew teenagers could be overly dramatic-despite never marrying, or fathering a child of his own he'd somehow become the father of two and grandfather of six and had plenty of experience with dramatics of all types-but really, that one just plain took the cake. It would have been funny if it hadn't concerned him so deeply.

That uncertainty mixed with the guilt Billy felt could wind up being disastrous if left unchecked. Honestly, Theo thought, as he banked slightly around a corner, if Lynn had just dealt with the boy herself instead of letting him storm off, this all would have been over with a week ago. Should have stuck his nose in a corner, or given his smart mouth a little pop-or his butt. But it wasn't every day the "angel" of the bunch came unglued like that, and well the cussing didn't really bother Lynn the vehemence behind it did. She'd been shocked, and gotten emotional and then Billy had taken off. Nothing had been resolved, and by all rights the boy just refused to believe he was forgiven.

Theo slowed the bike, easing off the throttle as he saw the small clear gap of roadside that marked his stop. As he pulled over he spoke up, loud to be heard over the engine, "Not only is this spot unnamed, it's secret. Once we get all the way over you'll see there are a couple of bushes I can park the bike behind so no one can see us from the road and discover it. You're the only one I've told about it, and in all the years I've been coming here I've never seen another soul. It'll be a secret between us now."

By the time he finished talking they were already pulling behind the bushes, and Billy, who'd barely been able to see the opening from the road, was impressed. This place was neat, a little clearing just off the road, but completely hidden from it at the same time. He could see a well-worn path heading down in the direction he knew the river was, and what seemed to be a few deer trails heading sideways down the road side. Billy had to admit, he found the idea of having a secret place just for him and his granddad pretty awesome.

"How long have you been coming here?" Billy scrambled off the bike and pulled off the helmet, shaking his head to get rid of his helmet hair and making Theo chuckle.

"Oh well, I think on about fifty years or so now. Think I found it about 10 years or so after I moved here, right around the time I bought a half-share in the store. So around '56 or '57. I had a well, not a break-up exactly," Theo climbed off the bike, hesitating for a moment as he thought how to phrase it, "but a sad situation and needed a spot entirely to myself to get over it. Found this place and it helped, over the years I've come back here many a time.

Theo bent over the sidecar and began pulling out equipment, handing a pole and a bag containing their dinner to Billy, who threw the bag over his shoulder while regarding Theo curiously, "What kind of sad situation?" Thinking of a girl he'd had a crush on the year before he asked, "Did she have to move away or something?"

Theo pulled out his tackle box, leaning back to set it on the motorcycle seat, and regarded Billy fondly, "Well, she did move away eventually, but it was a bit more complicated than that, son. Let's just say, well, it was the end of the 1950's I was colored, and she was a white girl. Even worse, she was an Afrikaner, or her parents were, moved over here when she was too little to remember." Theo pulled out his own pole and a backpack that held flashlights, matches, a pair of sweatshirts and a few other things "just in case". "C'mon, let's get going." He grabbed his tackle box and set off down the trail, Billy trotting close behind him.

"What's an Afrikaner?"

"Oh, they're a race of people from South Africa, of mostly Dutch descent, though there's French and German mixed in. And of course many of them married or had children with the African people there, but it's one of those things they don't acknowledge, even these days from what I gather. Have their own language and version of Christianity, and everything. Very unique culture, still very old fashioned in many ways." He glanced at Billy to make sure he wasn't boring him, and smiled to see him looking intrigued.

"What was her name?" Theo hummed to himself for a minute, lost in memories and Billy bit his lip to keep from rushing him, ducking under a branch as Theo automatically held it up for him.

"Martie. Marthina Eveleine Fourie. She was two years younger than me, and was a graduate student at the university when we met in '53. Smart as a whip that one, and very prim and proper in a sweet sort of way. Her girlfriends and her used to come into the soda fountain on Saturday nights, and get pretty tipsy, only nine times out of ten Martie was the designated driver, and we'd wind up talking once her friends were crowded around the jukebox, singing off-key." Theo chuckled to himself at the memory, "If it weren't for her I'm sure they would have wound up getting themselves into all sorts of trouble."

"The soda fountain served alcohol?" Billy almost tripped over a root, he'd never heard about _that_ before.

"Oh no, of course not," Theo called over his shoulder, as he went around a curve in the path temporarily disappearing from view, "But the girls weren't a rough enough bunch for most of the bars in town, so I just ignored them passing around their little turquoise flask-pretty little thing it was, all silver and turquoise beads."

As Billy went around the corner after him, preparing to ask another question, his mouth dropped open instead as they came to the riverbed. It was _beautiful._ There was an old willow tree over close to the edge of the river bed, draping down so the ends of its branches trailed in the water. A little farther down and farther out there was a tangle of birches and a lone aspen growing right out of the river bed itself, a little rock and sand bar stretching out to one side of it. Right after that the river deepened and widened into a large pool that he was sure was where they'd be casting their lines, and then down a-ways, so you could hear it better than you could see it, it got fast and choppy, like miniature rapids. Billy turned around in a circle to take it all in, Theo grinning as the boy seemed to have forgotten all about his worries for the moment.

Billy breathed in deep, looking at the mixture of trees behind them. Anywhere else they might not have been anything special, a group of common, local trees, the same Billy saw every day, but they brought a slow, deep smile to his face as he breathed in again, taking in their smell. Just a few firs, some pines, oaks and alders, with a couple of skinny cotton woods twisting their way towards the sun, pushing in between the branches of the oak towering above them. An old redwood stump with a fern growing flush against its side, and what looked like little baby tree's growing out of it-Billy wasn't sure if they were redwoods or not-sat at the front of it all, looking like a throne for Pan. He just stared for a minute before turning back to his Granddad suddenly and saying sincerely, "Thank you. Thank you for sharing this with me."

"You're welcome, son." Theo smiled easily at him, eyes soft, and pointed at a few large rocks, small boulders really, resting on the shore right above the water line, "That's generally where I park myself. Close enough you can cast into the deep water easy, but not close enough to get your feet wet."

The two moved over and got themselves situated on the rocks, Billy to the left of Theo as he rooted in his tackle box pulling out a set of simple hooks and lures, and a few interesting looking cans of bait. Billy picked one up and peered at it, before pulling a slightly disgusted face, "Gross. Is this really little freeze-dried shrimp Mister Theo? They look nasty."

"Not the sort of shrimp you or I would find tasty, that's for sure. Now, do you remember how to attach your lure and hook?" Billy nodded his head, reaching out for the set Theo was holding.

"Yes sir, I think so."

"Alright then, let's see it." Theo watched Billy, and nodded approvingly as the boy correctly knotted his hook, and then attached the lure a little further up. "Good job, that's exactly how I taught you." He patted the boy's shoulder and Billy beamed at him. "Now, why don't you show me how you cast?"

Billy fumbled for a second, not used to casting sitting down, so Theo reached and adjusted his arms just a bit, "Close son, but you need to adjust your angle a bit 'cause of how low we are." Billy tried again, keeping his arms how Theo had moved them, and was rewarded with his line sailing in a nice clean arc over the water, landing with a small splash, "Perfect." Theo set up his own line, and cast it out, careful not to tangle it with Billy's line. The two set there in silence for a bit, Theo contemplating how to bring up the fight with Lynn. It was why they came out in the first place, but he didn't really want to spoil the day by reminding Billy.

A few minutes later, Billy spoke up, "So, what's the rest of the story?"

Theo looked over at him, distracted "Hmm?" Billy looked up from where he'd been fiddling with his line, examining it for any possible tangles, somewhat exasperated.

"The _story_ Mister Theo. You know, about the girl you loved." Theo shook his head for a moment; he'd quite forgotten the topic of their earlier conversation, lost in his worries.

"Oh, yes, I remember now. Martie…" Theo smiled quietly to himself again, before jerking his head back to Billy, curiously, "When did I tell you I was in love with her?"

Billy shrugged his shoulders, and sent a smile at his granddad, "I just figured, I mean if you remember her so well after fifty years, she's got to be special right?"

"She was at that. And yes, you're right I loved her very much, and as far I know she loved me." Theo stared quietly over the water, seemingly lost in the flashes of sun that made it sparkle, now starting to mix and twist with creeping shadows at the water's edge, "Sometimes though, love isn't enough. It can't make everything right; it can't protect you from the world."

Billy stared quietly at his granddad for a moment, and came to his own conclusion, "You still love her don't you? That's why you never got married." It wasn't a question, and Theo closed his eyes for a moment, pained, before answering the boy.

"Yes. Very much." His voice became thick for an instant, and Billy wasn't sure whether to be terrified or awed. That Mister Theo might trust him enough to cry around him was amazing-but at the same time Billy had never had to deal with a crying grown-up and wasn't at all sure what he was supposed to do. He sat his fishing pole to lean against one of the rocks and tentatively put a hand on Theo's shoulder like he'd seen him do for his uncle when upset. Theo lifted his head up and grinned at Billy, not bothering to hide the tears in the corner of his eyes. "I'll be fine, Billy-boy, don't worry. Thank you, son." Theo pulled the boy closer to him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "The ending might be sad, but we had a few years together, even if it was in secret. I still have my memories; nobody can take those away from a person. Pick up your pole before the line gets tangled, and I'll tell you how it started."

Billy did as he was told, but stayed tucked under his grandfather's arm. "Well let's see," Theo reached up and adjusted his hearing aid, "I already told you about her and her friends coming into the soda fountain every Saturday right? And their little turquoise flask?"

Billy nodded, "Yes sir, you did." The boy actually sounded eager and Theo grinned-he'd thought a little one on one time would get rid of the attitude and he'd been right.

"Well, we were friends at first, mostly just talking at the soda fountain. A few times we went as part of a big group to church functions, that was before the Springside Church was built, neither of us was Methodist, but we both went there. There wasn't enough of a black population for there to be separate churches, only about three or four other families and a few single guys from the logging camps, luckily for me or I probably never would have gotten to see her outside of work. All there was besides the Methodist church back then was the Catholic Church, and a Baptist place. I'd had enough of the Baptist church to last me a lifetime, and probably wouldn't have gone at all, if Jeffery Davis, my brother after a fashion, and his wife Ester-you remember hearing stories about them, don't you?-hadn't dragged me the first few times."

Billy, who found church quite boring whenever Momma Lynn insisted on dragging them there, grimaced in sympathy. Theo laughed, and playfully pushed his head, "It was good for me, just like its good for you. Besides back then it was one of the only ways to be social in this town-and if you didn't go to church not many girls would bother looking at you."

"Now, do you remember meeting a very old woman about, six or seven years ago I think?" Billy was thrown by the question, and shook his head in puzzlement. "Oh well, not a big deal. I've got pictures back at the house. That would have been your Auntie Ester; Jeffery had been dead for about fifteen years then. I'm sure you've heard your Momma and Uncle talk about their Uncle Jeffery and Auntie Ester, haven't you?" Billy nodded, he hadn't connected the names at first, but now he remembered, "She was moving in with her son, Landon, your cousin of a sort, though he's nearly sixty now, he lives on the other side of the mountain," Theo turned and pointed at the top of Mt. Hood in the distance, "They stopped by the store, and it was a rainy afternoon, so all you kids were loitering, and I got to introduce her to my littlest Grandbabies, you and Cammy for the first time. She'd already met the older kids, several times, but it had been a few years."

Billy who was beginning to dredge up a memory of a smiling women, skin the color of coffee and cream, every inch of it utterly filled with wrinkles, who had squeezed him in delight and pressed a butterscotch hard candy into his hand and a kiss to his head, just as she did to all the rest of "her little Theo's family", spoke up. "I think I do remember her, only not well."

Theo nodded, "Well, you only met her the once, but by all rights she's your family. When I go on my vacation every year that's who I'm visiting, Ester and Landon. I've told you stories about them before, Jeffery and I were in the war together, kept my dumb butt from getting shot or blown up more times than I care to remember." The grin on his face tipped Billy off, that really he did rather enjoy remembering and Billy couldn't help but grin back. "He's the only reason I wound up here, rather than, well, who knows. Dead, probably." There was still a grin on Theo's face, so Billy wasn't sure how seriously to take this.

"What do you mean?"

"Jeffery was rather to me what Rick is to you younger kids. I had done what a lot of boys back then did; I got someone to help me fudge the year on my birth certificate, and joined up when I was only just sixteen. Jeffery and I buddied up during basic, and he started watching out for me from the beginning. He was about five years older than me, and didn't say a thing at first, but I'm sure he'd cottoned on I was lying 'bout my age right away. Let me know he knew when he helped me out of some trouble I'd gotten into." Billy opened his mouth to ask what _sort _of trouble exactly, but Theo waved him off.

"That's a story for another time, when you're older. Anyway, he might as well have been my big brother, and after the war, well I didn't really have a home to go to. My Momma was gone, had been for about thirteen years then, and Daddy-well, let's just say Daddy was a complicated man. Either way, I wasn't going back to Oklahoma, and wasn't really sure where I was going next." The old man shook his head in bemusement at his younger self. "Instead of sharing this, I decided the best thing for me to do, would be to ride the rails, see where I ended up. It wasn't that long past the glory days of the depression era hoboes, plenty of them were still riding the rails themselves in '47. I'd grown up hearing all the romantic, glorified tales of train-hopping. The part where most of them starved to death, they left out."

Billy, who was a cautious lad for his age, shook his head, "That sounds…"

"Stupid? Dangerous?" Theo shook his head wryly, "Oh it was, it was. Don't know what the hell I was thinking, but I was determined not to be a burden on anybody. Jeffery had a wife and young son to get back to, and I didn't want him to worry about me. So I told him I was going home, and we spent a day or two saying our goodbyes. He tried to get me to come back with him, but I wasn't having any of it. I saw him off on the train that was supposed to take him home to Washington, and then spent another day in the city before hopping a train to Chicago."

Billy, who knew his Granddad had wound up in Springside somehow, asked, "He caught you didn't he? Rick always catches us, if we plan something stupid enough."

Theo snorted, and stretched a bit, picking up his pole and reeling it in just a bit, hoping to entice a fish or two, "Well that's good to know. Yes, I did get caught; to this day I don't know how Jeffery knew where I was. Said he had a friend who worked the railways that helped him out, along with having guys from our unit keeping an eye out for me, but that always seemed too pat an answer. I'd been on the rails for about three or four months, just shy of celebrating my 20th birthday on the streets. I was hungry, cold, absolutely broke, and developing a nasty cough in my chest." Theo rubbed at his chest in memory, and Billy found himself fascinated. That a memory from that long ago could still bring out a physical reaction was both neat, and kind of disturbing.

"I'd lost a good amount of weight, and none of my clothes fit me right anymore. Add onto how dirty you get like that, and pretty much no one is happy to see you. It was hard enough for a black man to find work in those days, and I had to stick to certain areas. At first I found labor jobs, not the best paying or the safest, but they were there, and kept me fed. But the more I looked like a bum, the more I got treated like one, and eventually almost no one would hire me."

Theo paused and looked out over the water, just staring for a minute. "I honestly thought I was going to starve to death, or freeze as winter set in. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't go…well, home wasn't the right word, but it was the only one I'd known, and I convinced myself that I had nowhere else to turn. Despite the card still in my wallet with an address and phone number on it to the store. Jeffery worked doing a delivery route for Lev then, driving up to all the logging camps and a few smaller towns that didn't have a store of their own twice a week to make deliveries and take orders, and had promised me if he wasn't at the store a message would be gotten to him."

"Our Lev?"

"What other Lev would it be?" Theo smiled sadly at Billy, who had been quite close to Lev, sitting quietly and playing chess for hours, soaking up every bit of strategy the old man could teach him, listening to his tales about the old world with the attention most children pay to a favorite cartoon. Of course everyone had liked Lev, he had a sort of magnetic personality that seemed to draw people to him, and had been much the same at 99 as he had at 39, a large beard on top of an even larger man, and a loud, booming voice, that more than hid that he spent quite a lot of his time silent, watching and enjoying the people around him. His mind had been sharp until the very end, and they had often joked that he would outlive them all. Except for Theo and Ester he _had _outlived all of the old guard.

"I miss him." Theo nodded at Billy's quiet admission, his own throat growing tight, and he leaned over, his hand reaching behind Billy to cup the boy's head, pulling him close enough to press a quick kiss to the side of his head, before settling himself back where he had been.

"I know son. So do I." After a moment he continued where he had left off, "So instead of calling for help, I continued to travel around the countryside, letting things get worse and worse. Don't get me wrong, I had quite a few adventures, even made a few friends…but in the end the bad things more than outweighed the good, and I just kept digging myself in deeper and deeper…"

Billy spoke up, quietly, voice more solemn than was normal for a fifteen year old boy, "Were you scared he wouldn't come if you called?" Theo looked at Billy and for the moment came back to the present; he rather thought some of Billy's own fears were being stirred up by his story, and for a second considered changing the subject entirely. But no, this wasn't something to leave alone.

"I suppose I was. I would have been wrong, but something doesn't have to be true for you to be scared of it." He paused then, and turned on his rock so he could look into Billy's eyes. "You ever run off like that, and you'll have a heck of a lot more than one person looking for you. Don't you ever worry about that, or think you don't have a home to go too. You do, and you always will."

Billy, who knew he did have a tendency towards disappearing, if not outright running off, blushed and nodded, looking down and not really analyzing the way something inside him unclenched just a bit.

"You always will." Theo said again, reaching out to tip Billy's face up to meet his eyes again, "Always." Billy nodded again, and after a moment Theo was satisfied and let him go, "Your line is tugging, you'll lose your pole in a minute." Billy turned with a shout and snatched up the pole from where it had slid out of its perch, reeling in his line, and then frowned as the fish he pulled up was rather tiny.

"Damn." He pouted in disappointment, but was already unhooking it to throw the little guy back in, "I always feel bad when we poke 'em in the lip for nothing." Theo smiled at his back, that boy was a sweet one alright. Either of his brothers would have been disappointed that they had one less fish to brag about-not that they'd hurt the fish's lip. Yes, Billy might drive his family to distraction in other ways, but he'd never hurt a soul that hadn't hurt him first.

The boy re-baited his line, using the "gross" freeze-dried shrimp instead of the powerbait he'd chosen the first time, and recast, before settling back again on his rock, looking at Theo expectantly. "So, how'd your brother find you?"

Theo smiled at the easy way Billy seemed to see the world sometimes-as though the way that things should _be_, was simply already the way they were. Most people, even those who should know better, called Jeffery his friend. Ester had made sure he was listed as a surviving brother in the obituary, which had touched him beyond words, but when he'd gotten up to speak at the funeral the pastor had announced him as a "close friend".

He wondered if the young man had ever figured out why "sweet old Mrs. Davis" had made such a point of introducing Theo around afterwards as "My Jeffery's baby brother, Theo," to every single person at the wake.

She'd introduced him to the pastor no less than three times, to the bewildered man's increasing confusion, and by the end Theo had been sure Jeffery must be watching them from above, all but rolling on the floor laughing…

"Mister Theo…?" Theo gave Billy an apologetic smile, and started up again without preamble,

"I had left Maine, where I'd gotten work on a few fishing and crabbing boats, but tore up my hands somethin' awful for my trouble, and after a few days ride, I was getting ready to hop off in New Jersey…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Theo huddled against the back wall of the train car, shivering and trying not to cough. Every time he gave into the urge it was ages before he could stop. Yesterday he'd coughed up blood on his hands, and was still terrified that he could have TB. He pulled his dirty coat tighter against his body, letting out a moan as a chill racked through him, and was unable to stave off a coughing fit a moment longer. Great, rasping, wet coughs left him, so strong he banged his shoulder repeatedly against the crate next to him, his whole body jerking from the force. When he finally got himself under control and pulled his sleeve away from his mouth, it was speckled with blood. Theo moaned again and closed his eyes. Even if it wasn't TB it was still incredibly nasty, pneumonia or some kind of serious infection.

He was going to die more than likely. He pondered this with a mixture of utter detachment and despair. Theo didn't want to die, but he wasn't really sure there was anything he could do about it. He had only about a dollar in change left on him, and well he'd managed to hang onto his army duffel, he'd already sold everything out of it that was worth anything, except his blankets, and he needed those.

Even his uniform had been sold. That had been a hard blow, but it had fed him and gotten him a dry place to stay for a while.

After all, what was he going to use his uniform for stateside? A parade?

For now he needed to concentrate on what to do next. Soon this train would pull into the station, and Theo needed to be off it as quickly as possible, he'd been too long without a meal, and didn't know when the train would stop again. He'd already been beaten up by a few different railway officers and had no desire to repeat the experience. Most just aimed a kick or two as they chased him off the property, but a few had seemed to think breaking his ribs was a better idea. He wasn't sure he'd recover from something like that now, so if it was possible he needed to jump off before the train came to a complete stop.

He craned his ears to listen, it sounded like they were approaching a city, and the outside of the car had been getting noisier for a while now. Sure enough in a few minutes he could feel the train beginning to slow, along with the slight screech from the rusty brakes. Theo laboriously made his way to his feet, putting the straps of his duffel over his shoulders, and carefully made his way across the car over to the door, preparing to slide it open when the train slowed enough.

He waited, and waited a bit more, but finally the train had slowed enough he wouldn't splatter like a bug when he jumped. Theo yanked open the door, grabbing onto the doorframe as the wind tried to suck him right out of the car. He looked about for a good spot to jump, and after a minute or two spotted a small grassy hill sloping away from the tracks, right on the closest edge of the yard, that looked good. It was just inside the train yard, rather than out, but close enough to the fence he thought it would be alright. It would give the train a bit more time to slow down too.

He braced himself, bending his knees in preparation. Soon…soon…soon…soon-now! Theo launched himself out of the car, tucking his head down and knees up, and hit the ground rolling, arms wrapped around his head, as dirt and grass went flying around him. When he came to a halt he wanted nothing more than to just flop there on the ground, but forced himself to his feet with a groan.

The world spun for a moment and Theo thought he was going to face plant when suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. For a second he thought it must be a cop, when a familiar voice reached his ears, "Theo, ya stupid little twit, did ya just jump off a movin' goddamned train?"

Jeffery sounded absolutely furious, and when Theo turned towards him he looked even madder. It didn't change the fact that Theo had never been happier to see anybody in his whole entire life. He flung himself at Jeffery, hardly noticing when the older man staggered under the sudden weight, just felt his arms tighten around him. He squeezed Theo back so tight it hurt, and Theo had never felt safer in his life.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	9. A moving train, Mister Theo?

*.*.*.*.*.*

"You jumped out of a _moving _train?" Billy was looking at his grandfather with a strange mixture of admiration and alarm, as though he thought the man might suddenly break, even though it was sixty odd years later. Theo thought there was a bit of wondering about his sanity going on as well, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Was hardly the first time. It wasn't that unusual back then, lots of people were jumping out of trains. Really, if anything Jeffery was overreacting, wasn't that big a deal at all." Theo huffed to himself, and Billy began to wonder just how difficult a teenager Mister Theo had been if he thought _jumping out of a train_ wasn't a big deal.

He supposed having bullets shot at you and bombs dropped around you would kind of change your perspective…

Theo had drifted off into thought again and Billy nudged him, "I bet Uncle Jeffery disagreed with you huh?"

"Oh yeah!" Theo laughed out loud, "Very loudly, and for a long time as well. He was pissed with me in general of course," Theo waved a hand in the air, dismissing this as important, "and I don't blame him either. I was sick enough that he wound up having his railroad buddy drive us to the hospital instead of his hotel. Physically he was treating me like glass, but I don't think I've ever had my ears roasted like that before or since then in my life. I was the dumbest kid in the world, not because I didn't have brains but because I refused to use them, I had a death wish, I didn't care about how much it would hurt the people who gave a shit about me if I died, I was the most reckless, stubborn, jackass on the planet…and on and on like that until we got to the hospital. And, oh boy," Theo shook his head with a rueful smile, "Did he ever make sure I knew I was gonna get it, told me repeatedly he was gonna whup my butt, and he meant it too…"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Jeffery Davis gently helped the limping young idiot he considered his brother up into the pickup cab, resisting the urge to land a smack where it would do the most good. Not that Theo didn't deserve the butt whupping of all time, but that could wait till they made sure he didn't break anything acting like he thought he was Buck Rodgers. Or die of whatever the hell sickness he had caught, the damn boy could barely breath without either coughing or moaning in pain. His friend Clarence smirked at him shaking his curly head back and forth, "Don' know what ya gonna do wit' dis one do ya?"

"Oh, I know what I'm gonna do alright." Theo heard and directed a pathetic look at him, and Jeffery just looked seriously back at him until he lowered his eyes, "Budge over so I can slide in." Theo slid over without a word, staring at his shoes. Clarence, who was ever cheerful, laughed and slapped Jeffery on the back before walking around the front of the cab to the driver's seat.

Jeffery ran a hand over his face, exhausted and suddenly filling it. He turned away from the truck not wanting anyone to see his expression. He was as grateful to Clarence as he could be for his help, beyond grateful, he knew very well he could never thank the man enough. If he hadn't taken over the search, spreading the word to the other workers he could trust, efficiently creating a communication network between himself and mostly other colored veterans, both porters, yard workers, mechanics, and even train hoppers, they might never have found Theo.

No, they never would have found Theo, period.

Yet, he found the way Clarence had treated it a bit like a game, like they were actors in one of the radio programs his little son liked to listen to and it was all a big adventure, slightly disconcerting.

From inside the truck cab, where Clarence was now sitting next to Theo he heard a quiet voice speak up, "He hates me, don't he?"

"Oh, don' be stupid kid. If he hated ya, he wouldn'ta been here, would he? Dat boy been driving hisself crazy lookin' for ya. Mustah tol' everyone he's known in his whole life, got me ta help din' he? Couple a times I t'ought he was gonna have hisself a heart-attack and him not much more than a youngin'. He's 'bout flipped his wig worryin' 'bout ya." Clarence must not have liked whatever he saw in Theo's face, because he started up again, "Well, ya know, I can' make ya believe me, but I ain't lyin', dat's da god's truth. Jeff'ry loves ya kid, even if he do wanna strangle ya for dis fool stunt."

Jeffery took a deep breath, slightly ashamed at his previous thoughts, and turned around forcing himself to climb into the truck. As he sat down he gently put an arm around Theo, still mindful of any injuries, and drew him to his side, just needing to have him close, and more importantly to make sure the little fat-head didn't seriously think he hated him. He just sat there for a minute, ignoring Clarence's knowing smile as he started his engine, leaning back against the seat and tugging Theo with him to lean slightly against his chest. "You're my family, Theo. 'Course I don't hate ya." He hesitated here, he knew what Theo needed to hear, but it was something he'd always had a hard time saying, even to his wife. He could do physical affection fine, mostly, but sharing his emotions with words didn't tend to work out well.

Clarence, who originally hailed from a big, close-knit family in Mississippi, where they kissed and hugged and said I love you as often as they said hello, was looking sideways at him. His stare was non-judgmental, more like he was just waiting to see what happened next, but Jeffery had a feeling he'd think him something of a coward if he didn't man-up and just say it. "I love ya, ya stupid little twit." Clarence was beaming at him now, and Jeffery studiously avoided making eye contact with him, keeping his eyes trained on Theo, who for his part kept his head bent, now staring at his lap instead of his shoes.

Jeffery stared at the back of Theo's head, at his dirty, unkempt hair, which he was pretty sure had at least a little bit of dried blood in it and god knew what all else, and felt himself slammed with a wave of emotion. He almost couldn't believe how much he loved this kid. This stupid, stupid kid, who had almost died, who judging from the raspy, shallow quality of his breath, wasn't entirely out of the woods yet. Because of what? Pride and fear? "God Theo, if I'da lost ya…" He felt himself glaring at the bent head in front of him, and couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Ya could'a died Theo. Ya could'a died, and there would'a been nothin' I could do to even try and help, 'cause you told me ya were going home to Oklahoma. Ya could'a died, alone and cold, and wound up in a paupers grave, and I would'a spent the rest of my life wonderin' and lookin', and _never, ever_ findin' ya! What the hell were ya thinkin'? Do ya have any idea how much trouble you're in? I swear to god boy, I'm gonna just about whup the hide right off ya. What the _hell _were ya thinkin'?" Jeffery did not give Theo even a second to answer the question before he went on, "I told ya! I told ya, ya could'a come home with me. That I wanted ya to come home with me. I talked to Ester about it, I'd told her so much about ya in my letters, she said she felt like ya were part of the family already. She's been nearly as worried as I've been." Jeffery glared at the back of Theo's head waiting for a response, any sign the boy was actually taking in what he was saying, before continuing on in frustration.

"Don't do that, don't just sit there, gimme some sign you're actually listenin'." Theo mumbled something in response that Jeffery couldn't make heads or tails of, and he snapped, slamming the hand that wasn't still wrapped gently around Theo's shoulder against his door, "Dammit Theo, you're not stupid! You're a smart kid, so why the hell don't ya even think? Or maybe ya are stupid; 'cause not usin' the brains god gave ya has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard'a! Didja even think about how dangerous it would be? That ya could'a _frozen _to death? It's the middle of November, there's _snow_ on the ground in half the damn country! About the fact that hoppin' trains is a crime; jail ain't a fun place to go, or how damn rough even the nicest people you met would be?" Theo bowed his head further, still not saying anything, and Jeffery's irritation surged even higher.

"Or was it just Theo, off on an adventure, like you're Huck Finn?" Jeffery's voice was harsh, almost sarcastic, and Clarence was slanting quelling looks at him, "'Cause that's what I'm startin' to think, ya thought it was goin' to be all fun and games, and then when ya got in over ya head, ya were too damn stubborn to admit it. Ya gotta be the most reckless, stubborn idiot I have ever met! For God's sake Theo look at ya! You're so sick ya can hardly breathe, you're covered in bruises and scrapes and worse, and you're skinny as a damn rail! What would it have taken before ya called me at the store? Would ya have at all? Or would ya have just let yourself die, in the back of some alley somewhere? Do ya have some kinda death wish?!" Jeffery was out and out shouting by now, and Theo was shaking, clearly trying not to cry, and even as part of Jeffery felt bad about that, the rest opened his mouth to continue when Clarence cut him off.

"Hey now, c'mon, da kid's had enough, dat's plain ta see." Jeffery turned to Clarence, annoyed at the interference, but Clarence just looked calmly back at him, "I ain't sayin' he din' earn dat tongue lashin', 'cause he did, and ain't nobody in dere right mind gonna disagree wit' ya on dat. But, enough. We just 'bout dere, anyway." Jeffery nodded, and took a deep breath, pulling himself together. He was still furious, still filled with leftover fear and adrenaline from watching Theo jump off that damned train, but he pushed it down for now, so he could deal with what was important.

"Clarence is right. You're still in trouble, ya scared the life out of me, ya lied to me, and put your own damn life in danger, and I'm still gonna give ya the whuppin' of your life once you're not about half-dead, but that don't mean I get to lose my temper." That wasn't quite what Clarence had meant, but it seemed to be effective enough, so he supposed that worked, and nodded approvingly. Not that he thought Jeffery, who was now rubbing Theo's back and murmuring to him as the boy cried quietly into his shoulder, was paying any particular mind to him at the moment…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy looked at his Granddad sympathetically, scrunching up his nose as he thought of a delicate way to ask his question. "He didn't really mean it, though, did he?"

Theo was a bit baffled, "Mean what, son?" He'd figured if Billy questioned any part of the story, it would be the bit where Theo jumped out of a train, and wasn't quite sure what else would be so unbelievable.

"Well, you know," Billy blushed in a sort of sympathetic embarrassment for his grandfather, "About whupping you. Surely you were too old?"

Theo laughed, and shook his head, "It was another time son, and honestly for something as stupid as I had done, I don't think you're ever too old. No, as much I hated it at the time, I deserved that whuppin', and I don't blame Jeffery at all. Grateful to him, really." Billy looked sort of wary now, and Theo laughed again, certain of where his train of thought had gone. "Unless you plan to do something as dangerous as running away for months at a time, hopping trains, I think you're probably good Billy-Boy." He then seemed to think better of this, and made sure to meet Billy's eyes when he spoke, "But if you do wind up in a dangerous situation like that, don't think I won't. I'm fairly sure your Uncle has similar thoughts on the matter to me." Billy nodded, slightly wide-eyed, but if he was honest with himself, not really surprised.

Theo decided it was time to change the subject, and gestured to the bag of food resting by their feet, "It's getting close enough to supper time, why don't you pull us out our sandwiches and stuff." Billy who had just gone through yet another growth spurt, and was always hungry, grinned and pulled the bag into his lap, everything else temporarily forgotten. As Billy exclaimed over roast beef and swiss, his favorite, Theo smiled fondly and accepted his sandwich, but felt himself drifting back into memory again…

*.*.*.*.*.*

It had been just over two and a half weeks since Jeffery had found Theo, and he had been growing more and more nervous. Something that Jeffery had promised him-or maybe threatened was the better word, since it wasn't exactly something he wanted to happen, quite the opposite in fact-had not happened. At first Theo had been relieved, but as time went on he found he couldn't quite relax.

He'd been in the hospital for four days, not counting that first night, before they let him go, with orders that he not travel out of the city for at least another day. They hadn't left for two and a half. Jeffery had been hovering over him as much as the hospital would allow. Along with being sick as a dog, he'd had a few broken and cracked ribs in various states of healing, and a badly fractured ankle, and you would have thought he was dying the way Jeffery mother-henned him. The man had lied and said they were half-brothers, and that along with a matronly nurse who'd taken a liking to them both had led to Theo rarely being alone.

Theo had honestly expected to be…punished when they got back to the hotel. Instead Jeffery had made him go back to bed the second they got in the room, telling him he was going to get them food and he better not get out of bed unless the hotel was on fire. He had switched the radio on before he left, and turned it to a fairly good station, and Theo must have still been more tired than he thought because he'd fallen asleep halfway through his favorite program, Buck Rodgers.

Nothing had happened since then, not on the four day trip by train (Jeffery had asked Theo whether he preferred riding in the passengers cars to the freight, which had led to a playful, if careful and very brief wrestling match. Jeffery had quickly won and proceeding to ruffle Theo's hair excessively.), and not when they'd gotten home to Washington.

Home. It was a strange word to think, especially so quickly. But as Theo looked around the small room that was apparently his, with the colorful crazy quilt spread across the bed, the matching rag rug, the dresser with a catch-all bowl, and the delicate looking lamp on the bedside table, he knew it was true. Not because of the things, though it was by far the spiffiest room he'd ever had, but because of the people who had been willing to do this for him. There was even a few Buck Rodgers comics tucked into the drawer of the bedside table.

When Theo had found them and gone to thank Jeffery, the man had been confused, then shrugged and said it must have been Ester. Theo hadn't known what to say, but he would deny any tears to his dying day. She didn't even know him, and she'd still gone out and found something special, just for him. Something that made his room seem like it was really his, not just a room they were letting him use, but _his_.

Ester had been treating him like family since he got here, telling him he was too skinny, and making things to tempt his appetite, hugging him goodnight, chatting to him about random things and always wanting his opinion on it all. Theo smiled ruefully to himself; being family apparently included telling him off when he did something stupid. She'd caught him smoking on the back porch, which due to his still recovering lungs was absolutely not smart, and evidently not allowed, and scolded him fiercely, confiscating his cigarettes and even landing a sharp smack to his ear as he'd gone back into the house.

She had not however told Jeffery, which made her just about the swellest person in the world in Theo's opinion.

But none of that changed that he'd had this hanging over his head the whole time. It hadn't been so bad at first; he could blame his nerves on everything being so new, so different. Now…he might as well just admit to himself at least, he felt guilty, and that in turn made him uneasy. He knew he shouldn't have run, or maybe he only did in hindsight, sometimes he wasn't quite sure, but he still felt guilty for all those weeks Jeffery had been looking for him.

Theo was pretty sure that was how he wound up here, waiting for Jeffery to come up and talk to him. He hadn't meant to lose his temper, but when he'd dropped the bowl of mashed potatoes on the way to the table, and saw it shatter everywhere the words had sprung out of his mouth unbidden. Theo cringed in embarrassment as he remembered the absolutely stunned look on Ester's face, as though she'd never heard those words before, or at least never heard them used in combination like that. He'd frozen in place, and started trying to apologize, and then Jeffery had ordered him upstairs, looking none too pleased.

Then on the way up the stairs he'd heard Landon, who was only four, ask, "Why are you mad at Uncle Theo, Daddy? He didn't mean to drop the bowl," in his innocent little voice, and even knowing it was a terrible idea couldn't help but stop to listen, half horrified, half amused.

"I'm not mad at Uncle Theo for droppin' the bowl, buddy, you're right, that wouldn't be fair. I'm mad because what he said after he dropped it was a very nasty thing to say, I don't want ya to repeat any of those words, ya hear?" The truth was he wasn't really _mad-_Theo clearly hadn't planned to curse a blue streak in the kitchen- but he wasn't very happy either.

"Yes Daddy, I hear." There was a heavy pause where you could almost feel the "but" hovering in the air, and the little boy continued, "But he said Jesus Daddy, and Jesus isn't a bad word, Jesus is our friend." Theo couldn't help but grin, and that increased when he heard Jeffery trying to scramble for an answer. Oh, he knew having to have this conversation would probably just get him in more hot water, but it was pretty funny.

"Uh, uhm, it's not that Jesus is a bad word, it's the way he said it. Mixed with the other words. The bad ones." There was a pause where Theo could well imagine the little one's confusion at that explanation, his grin getting a little bigger. "Um, why don't ya ask your momma? Ester?" Theo sniggered just a bit at his brother retreating from a conversation with his four year old. Jeffery apparently heard, because he called out towards him, voice suddenly annoyed again, "When I said go to your room Theodore Edward, I meant go to your room, not hide on the stairs and eavesdrop. Scram!" Theo had hustled himself up the stairs in a hurry, not used to hearing his full name like that.

The last time it happened he'd just run ahead on an exercise without waiting for the go ahead, and things had gotten progressively worse from there…

He always forgot just how good Jeffery's ears were. The other guys in their unit used to call him eagle-ear as both a joke and a boast.

The truth was, Theo ordinarily didn't swear like that, not even when it had been just guys during the war. Oh sure, the occasional damn or hell or shit left his mouth, but-he wasn't creative or colorful in his swearing. What he'd said in the kitchen was beyond colorful or creative. If it hadn't gotten him in the hot seat he would have been impressed with himself. As it was he had probably just changed Ester's opinion of him forever. Theo leaned forward and put his head in his hands, groaning, "I am such a crumb, they should just tell me to kiss off."

"Hey," Jeffery's voice scolded from the doorway, "That's enough of that, Theo. Ya aren't a crumb, and we're certainly not sendin' ya away. Ya make a habit outa swearin' like that, and you'll probably get well acquainted with a bar of soap, I had to talk Ester out of it as it was." Theo shuddered at the idea, and silently vowed to never swear again, at least when Ester was around.

"But we aren't goin' to kick ya out, buddy, not for anythin'. We're not gonna change our minds and send ya away Theo, you're our family and this is your home now. We talked about this, ya told me ya understood. Is this why ya've been so nervous the last couple'a days?" Theo shrugged, looking away, feeling the unease that had been increasing in him the last few days well up; along with a bit of resentment he hadn't even realized he felt till that moment, "Ya answer me when I ask ya a question, Theo."

Jeffery had said it patiently, not snapped or yelled, but for some reason Theo found this more upsetting than if he had, "I'm not a little kid, you're not my daddy, I'm not Landon, don't talk to me like I'm four. In case you forgot we met in the damned army, I've had the same training you've had, all the same experiences. I can take care of myself, I always have." He said this to his bed sheets rather than his brother, but Jeffery heard him clearly, and frowned both hurt and a bit annoyed. He knew he wasn't Theo's father, and wasn't trying to be, but they were still family and he'd thought things had been going okay. He certainly hadn't forgotten their time on the main land, and he knew damn well Theo could take care of himself, could take care of Jeffery when he needed it. Theo had proven that time and time again.

He just didn't think the kid should have to anymore.

"Theo…" He trailed off for a second then started up again when Theo didn't respond, "I know I'm not your old man, and I'm not tryin' to be. I'm not tryin' to treat ya like you're four, I've never gotten drunk with Landon, ya know." That got a small chuckle out of Theo, and a shrugged shoulder, "I've certainly never had my life saved at least a half dozen times by anybody but ya, or returned the favor. I haven't forgotten what a good soldier ya are, I know ya can take care of yourself Theo, but sometimes I _wanna _take care of ya. You're my best friend Theo, but you're also my brother, my kid brother, and I'm sorry but a bit of bossin' and fussin' is gonna go along with that. 'Specially when you've been so sick, I'm sorry but I'm gonna worry. There's just no two ways round that."

Theo plucked at his quilt for a moment longer, gathering his thoughts. "I know that Jeffery, I do. I…even get that you have every right to boss me a bit, I know I acted like a ninny. I think I even figured out you really do want me around…I mean, sometimes I worry, I'm not gonna lie, I just, I don't know…I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Hey, Theo, I just told ya, this is your home now. There is _no_ other shoe-" Theo shook his head, dismissing that idea even before speaking up.

"No, not that. I-I know you're not gonna kick me out, even if sometimes it seems crazy that you really want me to stick around for good. Didn't really believe it before, when you asked me to come with you when we got back stateside. Figured you'd get sick of me eventually, or I'd wind up not getting along with Ester, or something," Jeffery opened his mouth to argue, but Theo waved him off, continuing before he could start. "I realized that wasn't gonna happen when you tracked me down halfway across the country, just 'cause my Daddy told you I wasn't home."

Actually he'd told Jeffery he hadn't heard from him in over four years, and had no idea he'd even been in the army. He hadn't seemed too concerned, other than being somewhat glad his son wasn't dead. Jeffery had just been happy he'd taken the time to answer the letter, hell to read it in the first place rather than simply toss it out, and he was fairly certain that had been more for the novelty of the thing than any sense of duty to his child. He didn't think that was something Theo needed to know however. Jeffery frowned, realizing that if it wasn't that, he had no idea what was going on. "Well good. I'm not sure what ya mean then, about the other shoe…"

Theo shrugged his shoulders and looked away, suddenly stiff again and Jeffery decided that he wasn't having that. He'd really only intended to come up here, bust his chops a bit, and have him apologize to Ester. He wasn't sure how it had turned into this, but he wasn't stupid enough to think letting it go now could be anything but foolish. He walked the few steps from the doorway to the edge of the bed, bumping his knee against Theo's as he turned to sit, silently asking him to slide over a bit. "Theo, if I don't know what's going on, I can't do anything to fix it. I'm not sure what all you're worryin' about, but you're still recoverin' and this can't be good for ya. Will ya tell me what's wrong?" The boy just shrugged again and Jeffery was considering hardening his tone, when he saw a tear spill down Theo's cheek. It was just the one and he immediately turned his head to hide it, but Jeffery saw anyway and with a quiet "Aw hell," pulled Theo close, turning so he could hug him properly.

"I'm so-" Theo's voice was thick with held back tears, and Jeffery cut him off before he could finish, trying to sound both firm and soothing at the same time, and not at all sure he was succeeding.

"Hey, no Theo, ya don't say sorry for being hurt, ya hear? A few tears aren't anything to be ashamed of, just part of being human." He just held him for a few moments longer, not sure just where he'd dropped the ball with Theo, but sure he must have. "Theo? Will ya please tell me what's got ya so rattled?"

Theo wasn't sure what to say. How the hell do you tell someone you're upset they didn't…hell he couldn't even think it, how could he say it? It wasn't really that either, even as he felt guilty, he thought if things were resolved, if he knew he was forgiven, he could just move past it. He didn't know that though, not for sure.

…And he did feel awfully bad for all those weeks Jeffery had been looking for him, when he should have been with Ester and little Landon, after he'd been separated from them for so long…

"Theo?"

"Am I still in trouble?" His voice was quiet and hesitant, and he prayed that Jeffery would somehow understand what he meant with no further explanation.

"For cussin'?" Jeffery was sure that wasn't the real problem, but hastened to reassure him anyway, "No bud, long as ya try not to do it again."

Theo was shaking his head, and Jeffery leaned closer as he started to mumble to his knees, "No, not that…for lying to you when we left base, telling you I was going...well somewhere I wasn't. And, you know…for wandering around the country with no one knowing where I was. For you having to look for me for months, when you could have been here with Ester and the baby…and me, I could have been here too…"

Well, hell. Jeffery wasn't sure himself, the answer to that question. At first he'd fully intended to punish Theo, but he hadn't been about to whup him when he was so sick. Even now he still had a painful, lingering chest cough that came and went on a whim of its own, which hadn't helped his mostly healed ribs any, and a walking cast on his ankle. The longer he had waited, had put it off, the more it seemed strange to go back and rehash the issue, and he began to think it wasn't really necessary. Theo was home now, safe.

But…Jeffery was beginning to question whether he hadn't avoided punishing Theo not because it wasn't needed, but because he simply hadn't wanted to. If that was the only reason then he wasn't being fair to anybody. Could he just let it go? Would it make things better or worse in the long run? The kid had got himself into some bad business running off like that, and as bad as things had been, they could have been so much worse. He had been beyond lucky to find Theo when he did, a few more days or weeks, and there might have been nothing left to find.

He hadn't realized Theo had been worrying himself over it so much, and really that was pretty lame-brained on his part. The poor kid had probably been wondering what was going to happen next the whole time. Jeffery was tempted to say that he had punished himself enough, but…"Jeffery?" The guilt and hesitation in Theo's voice tore at him, and when he met his brother's eyes and saw the same reflected in them, he knew what he had to do.

And really, now that he'd come to a decision there was no point in letting him stew over it any longer.

Jeffery pulled Theo even closer, and nodded his head seriously, "Yeah Theo, ya are. I'm not mad, and I already forgave ya, but that doesn't change the fact that ya earned a whuppin'. I've been puttin' it off 'cause ya were sick as well as still gettin' settled. But it's plain to me now that that wasn't the kindness I thought it was, and I'm sorry." As he finished his sentence he pushed himself backwards on the bed, pulling Theo with him.

Theo having realized he was getting what he'd asked for, was now not quite so sure he wanted it, and tried to pull himself backwards away from Jeffery. Well there was a time he probably could have given Jeffery a run for his money-Theo was _very _good in a fight-he was still weak and underweight and before he knew it had been lowered, quite gently, over Jeffery's lap. "You know, I've been thinking," Theo's voice had gone high pitched, and Jeffery ordered himself very firmly that he was _not _allowed to find any of this funny, "Isn't the point of a whuppin' to teach you not to do something? I promise, swear on my heart, I've already learned my lesson!"

"What lesson is that?" Jeffery's father had always made sure he knew why he was being whupped, and he figured this would be a slightly less embarrassing way of making sure Theo truly understood than outright asking 'Why am I spanking you?'

"Not to lie to you, especially about something like not having a place to live. Not to take off all on my own without telling anyone at all where I'm going. That sleeping in alleys and boxcars is a good way to get your throat cut. To get myself fixed up when I'm sick or injured. Not to hop trains, and especially not to jump on or off them when they're moving…yeah…I'm not getting out of this one am I?" The resignation in Theo's voice was palatable- it _was_ quite a list, apparently the kid had listened to his lectures better than he thought-and Jeffery allowed himself a small chuckle before answering.

"Not this time, kid. I'm glad you understand what ya did wrong, ya did a very good job ownin' up to it all, but I figure that means ya also get why I can't just let this go. Don't ya?" Theo lowered his head down and groaned something that might have been a yes into his quilt, nodding. "Good boy," Jeffrey said approvingly before bringing his hand down on the right side of Theo's rear with a loud smack, making Theo yelp, before immediately following it up with a second smack to the same spot on his left cheek.

Jeffery smacked back and forth somewhat haphazardly, switching from cheek to cheek, but never swatting in any particular pattern. Theo, who after his initial yelp had decided to remain stoic, let out a few grunts as already heated flesh was re-lit here and there. As his brother continued raining fire on his backside, Theo began to shift, just slightly, from side to side, a small "oww…" escaping his lips as a particular solid smack caught him right in the center of his butt. The smacks showed no sign of stopping, and were beginning to drift lower, swats falling right where he sat, and even on the tops of his thighs. Still determined not to make a fool of himself Theo fisted his hands into the top of his bedding, tightening and releasing his hold in an effort to distract himself.

"Ya don't lie to me Theo, especially about somethin' that affects your wellbein'. We're supposed to be partners and brothers, there's no shame in turnin' to one another. Ya definitely, _definitely_," He raised his hand high and brought it down firmly on each of his next words, "Do-not-_ever_-take-off-without-tellin'-someone," Jeffery moved his swats down and began alternating between the tops of Theo's thighs, ignoring his own wince as he heard Theo begin hissing thru his teeth. "Ya can't just run around the country without tellin' a single soul where you're going! If for some reason ya felt you couldn't tell me, ya tell somebody else. Do ya understand me Theodore?"

Theo gasped out a quiet "Yessir," still trying not to cry, but not succeeding very well judging by the growing smattering of tear tracks lining his face. He wanted to say that anyone he'd told, at least anyone of their friends, would have gone right to Jeffery, probably dragging Theo with them, but even if he had the breath he was fairly sure the comment wouldn't be appreciated.

Jeffery paused momentarily, and rubbed his back, "Good boy. We're almost done, just a little bit more." This might have been more comforting if his other hand hadn't reached under Theo and begun unbuckling his pants. Theo bucked and twisted, trying to stop him and Jeffery landed a stinging swat to the back of his leg, and he stilled, but cried out angrily.

"C'mon Jeffery, don't do that!" As he felt his pants begin to tug down Theo panicked, kicking his legs up, knowing he didn't have any real chance of connecting with his brother, let alone stopping him, but unable to help himself.

"Theo!" Jeffery snapped, moving his arm away from a flailing leg, "If ya actually kick me, ya are NOT gonna like the results, ya hear me? Knock it off, or you'll lose your jockeys too."

"This sucks!" Theo sounded about ten years old, angry and pouty, and that image was only reinforced when he pounded his right fist on the bed-he wanted to pound it on Jeffery's leg, but had some sense of self-preservation left. Jeffery sighed, frankly he thought this "sucked" too, but he also didn't want Theo putting his life in danger. Theo had only pushed him this far a few times before, but one thing had always been consistent-if he put himself in unnecessary danger, his pants came down. Period. He hadn't made an exception when they'd been hiding in an underground bunker, hoping they didn't get blown up, and he wasn't about to start now. Well his brother was compliant, stiff and angry, but compliant, he yanked his jeans the rest of the way down, and started swatting again, though not quite as hard as before. He fought a wince at how flushed and shiny even his brother's skin, darker than his own, could get when sore enough.

He continued swatting until he'd covered Theo's backside once more, briskly rather than hard, but the sting had increased quite a bit anyway judging from the way Theo was squirming an gasping, still trying not to cry. Jeffery rested his hand on Theo's thigh for a moment, speaking again, "Ya put yourself in danger Theo. That'll _never _be okay with me. Ya had no business puttin' yourself at risk sleepin' on the streets when ya knew ya had a home to go to." Jeffery brought his hand down three times on each sit spot after his statement, left then right, and the last smack tugged the first sob loose from deep in Theo's chest. Jeffery heard, but steeled himself to keep going, speaking again.

"When you're sick, 'specially as sick as ya were, ya take yourself to the doctor. A sickness that settles in your chest like that can turn into pneumonia quick as anything, and that'll kill ya if you aren't careful. Broken bones are meant to be treated, not ignored. If ya _ever_ think ya have broken ribs ya get yourself to a doctor, break 'em wrong and it can be bad news." He lifted his hand from where he'd rested it on Theo's leg, and brought it down an inch or two lower than he had before, four times on the left, and four times on the right. Theo was crying quietly into the top of his quilt, and Jeffery rubbed his back briefly, "Almost done, we're almost done."

"Jus-t finish, plea-see…" Theo ground this out clearly trying so hard not to let on he was crying, that when his voice drifted off into a wail at the end Jeffery's heart broke for him a little.

"Okay, bud. I don't have to tell ya ridin' the rails like ya were is beyond dangerous, some of the people out there'll cut your throat soon as look at ya. Jumpin' off or on the trains when there moving is about as foolish as ya can get, far as I'm concerned. Ya could've broken your neck landin' wrong, or slipped and fallen onto the tracks so many times…"

He shook his head, remembering his fear when Clarence had pointed at the last of an incoming section of boxcars, far enough you couldn't properly see it, and said…

*.*.*.*.*.*


	10. Flashback Interlude Finite

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Dat's the one, somewhere in dose few cars dere, is the one Jones said he saw ya boy slip into." Jeffery turned immediately, straining his eyes as though he could somehow see Theo through the metal sides. They'd missed Theo once two weeks before, and he was becoming more and more worried he'd never find him. People would get tired of helping eventually, and if he hadn't been using his real name, they never would have gotten this far as it was…

His mouth dropped open as he saw one of the metal doors lurch open, and his heart leapt directly into his throat as he realized the vaguely human figure clinging to the door frame had to be his little brother. "Yea, ya know, most of 'em ol' boys ridin' don' open the door till the train ain't goin' near so fast. Not unless dey gonna jump into water anyways." The slightly distracted, disbelieving tone in Clarence's voice knocked Jeffery back into reality, and without hesitating another second he was pounding across the yard, not sure what he was going to do, but not willing to not be close enough to try and do something. He could hear Clarence running behind him, yelling at him to slow down, but didn't really register it till the other man grabbed his arm and nearly got his lights knocked out for his trouble. "Hey! Stop!" Clarence shook his smaller friend lightly where he had him by the arm, "Listen! We don' know where he's gonna jump. Ya keep runnin' an' he might ride past us, and we could lose 'im in the station." Jeffery glared in frustration, but quit trying to jerk his arm away. The front of the train was heading into the yard now, and well it was moving much slower than before, it was still not near slow enough for him.

He kept his eyes trained on Theo, he was sure it was him now, who thank god, still seemed to be waiting for the train to slow. Jeffery straightened as he watched Theo shift position, still gripping the side of the car, but shifted over so he was in the middle of the frame, and his knees bent. "Clarence."

"Yep, I see 'im. Looks like he's gonna try and jump over dere, it's da only spot dat makes sense." He pointed to a hill sloping away from the tracks, with the arm that wasn't still gripping onto Jeffery like he thought he was going to run head first into the train. It was only as he started jogging forward himself that he let go of Jeffery, who immediately ran ahead, but as Theo was now launching himself forward out of the car this was understandable.

As Theo hit the ground rolling, lurching to his feet a few moments later, Jeffery reached out just in time to keep him from hitting the ground again. As he studied the dirty, swaying, but most importantly, _whole_ body in front of him, waves of both relief and anger hit him at the same time, and he snapped out, "Theo, ya stupid little twit, did ya just jump off a movin' goddamned train?"

He wasn't prepared for his brother to look at him like he was the second coming and launch himself straight at him, but he'd wrapped his arms tight around the kid before he'd even regained his footing, and at that moment didn't particularly ever want to let go.

*.*.*.*.*.*

As he looked down at Theo, memory fresh in his mind, he heard himself say, without really thinking about it, "Just ten more and we're done." Rather than laying all the swats on Theo's upper thighs as he'd originally intended, as suddenly that just seemed too cruel, he moved them randomly around his backside. Jeffery made sure they were hard enough to make his point-he _would_ _not_ have Theo be reckless with his life like that, but really, he just wanted this over with too. As he laid one last solid smack on his brother's rear, he said, "We're done, all done," with about as much relief as he imagined Theo felt. Jeffery reached down to tug up Theo's pants, lifting him a bit to make it easier. The boy in question seemed to have gone boneless, and Jeffery rubbed at his back softly, surprised to hear that it sounded like Theo had already stopped crying, which had never happened before.

Concerned he pulled him up, sitting him on the bed beside him, and frowned as he saw Theo was holding his breath. He shook him slightly, saying, "Hey, hey, stop that, why are ya doin' that?" Jeffery was temporarily relieved as Theo let out a shaky breath, then frowned in annoyance as he immediately drew in and held another breath. Starting to panic just a bit, mostly because he had no idea what was going on, he pulled his brother even further into his arms, until he was practically sitting on his lap and said, louder than he intended, "Theo breathe!" He heard him repeat the process from before, letting out his breath, only to hold another one, and just started rocking him, the only thing he could think of.

Suddenly he realized why Theo must be doing this, and said in a voice filled with exasperation and empathy, "Theo, do ya really think I'm gonna think less of ya if ya cry? Hell, if I'd just gotten a whuppin' like that I'd be cryin'." Theo shook his head, but then turned and buried it in Jeffery's chest so he figured he had the right tack, and kept on talking. "Like hell I wouldn't be. There isn't no shame in cryin', the people who say that are just jerks."

Theo shook his head again, and mumbled something Jeffery had to strain to hear, "Men don't cry, only worthless little sissies." Jeffery shook his head, whatever jackass had told Theo that needed a kick in the teeth. The way he had said it, he was clearly repeating someone, and Jeffery wished he wasn't so sure who.

"That's bull." He stated it firmly, hoping his vehemence would impress itself on Theo. Whether it did or not, Theo was now breathing regularly, head still tucked against his brother's chest, and he supposed that was good enough for now.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Jeffery tip-toed out of Theo's room, gently shutting the door behind him as he smiled to himself. The biggest difference between tucking his sleeping brother into bed versus his son seemed to be body size. In his exhausted state Theo had been just as limp, and just as clingy as Landon was when he was done for the night.

Jeffery turned down the hallway towards the stairs and halted as he saw Ester standing at the end of the landing, looking like she wasn't sure whether to be mad or not. He held a finger to his lips and pointed down the stairs. She nodded, but stepped back and gestured for him to go in front of her.

Okay. Guess he was in the doghouse.

As he started down the stairs Ester was right behind him and said quietly, "Let's go out on the porch to talk, Landon's listening to Cisco Kid in the living room." She didn't sound angry at all, but Jeffery had been married long enough to know that didn't mean much.

He nodded, and whispered back, "Okay doll."

They tiptoed around the edge of the living room, sharing a smile despite the tension at the sight of Landon doubled over with laughter where he sat in front of the radio with their mutt Moxy, his face pressed into the long-suffering momma dog's side as he cracked up over whatever Pancho had just said.

When they got onto the porch, Ester surprised him by taking his hand when he turned around to face her, "That can't have just been over him swearing, what happened baby?" Jeffery squeezed her hand lightly and relaxed when she squeezed his back, accepting the freely offered comfort, grateful to receive it even when she clearly suspected he had done something stupid. The fact that he knew if he had unjustly punished Theo she would be the first to jump to the boy's defense, was he thought one of the best things about her.

He just looked at his wife for a minute, soaking her in. Her hair was natural for once, the way he liked it, curling tight, soft and springy, close around her head, chocolate brown eyes looking expectantly at him. When Ester had told him the first time, that yes, he could bring the boy she'd heard so much about home with him, that of course his _brother _was welcome-Landon was looking forward to meeting his Uncle Theo-Jeffery had thought he had never loved her more, except for maybe the first time he'd held his son.

He'd not known what to do when the letter he'd sent had been answered, not by Theo, but by a father who Jeffery was fairly sure wasn't all there, and either way clearly couldn't care less. Ester had calmed him, and then demanded the letter. Once she'd read it, the situation had reversed itself and he'd been calming Ester, who was furious that anyone could care so little for their child, particularly a child who by all rights had been missing for years.

Jeffery had told her he wanted permission to try and find Theo, even though it would take him away from home, terrified that he'd be told no. She'd just smiled, sad but sincere and said, "Baby, we both know you'd never forgive yourself if you didn't go. So you go." Then she'd said something he'd heard her say before, but had never really understood before that day, a phrase he knew she'd heard from her Daddy, who had been a practical, down to earth man for a preacher. "Through hell or high water, we take care of our own." She breathed it more than said it, like a wish and a prayer and a curse all in one, and it had inexplicably filled him with hope-in that moment he _knew_ Theo would be coming home safely, _knew _that his family would be alright. Again, he'd realized that he could not love her more than in that moment.

When she'd cried in relief at the news Theo had been found, whispering words of comfort to Jeffery when he told her his fears about how sick Theo was, how close they'd come to losing him, and how he couldn't seem to shake the fear that if he left Theo for too long he'd come back to find him gone, or worse, dead, the same thought had crossed his mind, that it wasn't possible for him to love her more, or be more grateful that she was his, just as he was hers, in that moment.

He'd been wrong, because right now, with their boys safe in the house, and Ester so willing not only to stand by his side, but to protect and defend Theo just as she did their own son, Jeffery was _sure_ he'd never loved her more.

After another moment of him staring, she blushed a bit under his gaze, and broke the silence, "Jeffery?"

Jeffery shook himself out of his reverie, and smiled apologetically at her before answering, "No, course not. Seems he's been tormentin' himself with guilt and nerves waitin' for me to punish him for disappearin' like that. Half hopin' I'd forgotten, half that I'd just get it over with, and, well, I was hopin' it wasn't gonna be necessary and just sorta avoided the topic." Ester was frowning at him, reproach in her gaze.

"You didn't talk to him about it at _all_? Jeffery you _told_ me you talked to him." There was a worried twist to her lips now, one she always got when feeling pulled in two directions at once, her eyes flicking behind her to the upstairs of the house even though you couldn't see Theo's window from the porch.

Jeffery nodded, and started to separate his hand from hers, feeling the need to shove it in his pocket, but Ester tightened her hold and he desisted, squeezing back instead, "I did talk to him, but about stayin' here, and how he's family no matter what, and we all love him, even if he did act like a hare-brained idiot." He quirked a self-deprecating smile at her, "Guess I shouldn'ta skipped the messy bits."

Ester's face had softened again as he talked, "Well, I can see why that part would seem more important than the "messy bits." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, Jeffery folding his long body around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head, slumping slightly with exhaustion. "Is he doing okay now?"

"I think so. When I first walked up I overheard him basically badmouthin' himself, sayin' we should kick him out, but we talked and I think we've got him to the point where he knows we want him around, he just ain't sure why yet." He shifted a bit, turning his head so he could press a quick kiss to the top of hers, "I'm prayin' that now he knows his slate is clear he'll relax a little more, and start adjustin'."

"Poor baby. I noticed he'd have times where he'd be perfectly relaxed and happy, and then suddenly withdrawn, or nervous, but I just figured that was to be expected." She pulled slightly away from Jeffery walking backwards to lean against the railing post, tugging him with her. Jeffery followed willingly enough, placing his hands on either side of her hips, and adjusting his stance around hers, smiling softly when she moved her own hands to wind around his neck.

"Poor baby," She said again, but this time clearly directed at him, "I know how much you hated that." Jeffery nodded, smile dimming slightly. No, he had not wished to spank Theo at all, but still he was confident it had in the end, been the right thing to do.

Mostly confident.

For another moment they just stood there, enjoying each other's presence. It was as Jeffery bent down to kiss her, Ester leaning up to meet him, right as their lips met, that Landon's voice, accompanied by the sound of small feet, came barreling towards the backdoor. "Momma, Momma, my shows done! Can I have my cookie now? Please?"

Ester and Jeffery reluctantly pulled away from each other, Ester laughing into Jeffery's chest for a minute and setting him to chuckling. "What's so funny?" Piped a small voice, Landon's head now poking out the door onto the front porch.

"They do say it gets harder after there are two children in the house." Ester whispered just for Jeffery's ears, making him snort.

Landon, not used to being ignored, questioned again, "What's so funny, Daddy?"

Jeffery turned sideways, so he could address his son while still keeping a hand on his wife's waist, "Ya are."

Landon, realizing his daddy was playing with him, grinned widely and said, "No! I didn't do nothing funny Daddy." He shook his head wildly after he spoke to emphasize his point.

Jeffery considered his point, cocking his head to the side, "Hmm….are ya sure? I could'a sworn…"

Landon shook his head back and forth again, giggling too hard to talk, already knowing what was coming next. "I know!", exclaimed Jeffery, in an exaggerated voice, "It's the ants in your pants tellin' jokes, quick, c'mere, and we'll tickle them ants off ya. Ticklin' is the only cure for ants in the pants, ya know." He said the last as an aside to Ester, pretending for the moment he did not see his small son inching backwards, hands now stuffed over his mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to silence his giggles. Ester played along; nodded at him seriously and widening her eyes.

"Oh, ants in the pants, how awful, quick tickle him before they spread to everybody's clothes." Jeffery lunged forward just as Landon stepped all the way back inside, turning to run, Jeffery right on his heels, staying just far enough back from the giggling boy to avoid catching him as they ran in circles around the living room. Ester walked to the doorway and just leaned against it watching.

Ester loved seeing them play-there had been many nights when she worried she would never get to see this, that Jeffery would be killed and Landon would never know his father beyond old messages in sporadic letters. As she watched them, she thought it was perfect.

Except…Ester's eyes drifted to the kitchen doorway to the side of her and the tinfoil covered plate being kept warm in the oven, except there was a young one upstairs who had not eaten his supper yet.

She looked back at two of her boys in time to see Jeffery, who had caught and already tickled Landon, turn him upside down and walk around the living room, holding the still laughing boy up by his ankles, humming something that might have been supposed to be a royal march, but she was pretty sure wasn't. Ester shook her head, and then stepped forward, pulling the door shut behind her as she crossed diagonally to the kitchen doorway.

She pulled the warm plate from the oven, grabbing a paper towel and utensils on her way out of the kitchen, laughter drifting through the air around her as she started up the stairs.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Mister Theo, Mister Theo," A panicky young voice hit Theo's ears from what seemed to be very far away, a hand shaking insistently at his shoulder, "Theo! Granddad!" Theo forced himself up out of his sleep, eyes searching for Billy the second they opened. He sighed in relief to see him still whole and safe, standing in front of him, yet was unable to avoid reaching out a hand, unconsciously checking the boy for injuries.

"Billy, what's wrong, what happened? Are you alright?" Theo frowned in confusion, not seeing anything wrong at all, but the panic in Billy's voice had certainly been real enough.

Billy looked back at him, fear mostly gone, an embarrassed flush creeping up his neck, and reproach in his eyes, "You scared me, Mister Theo. I couldn't get you to wake up." Theo hesitated, not wanting to embarrass Billy more, before deciding a hug couldn't hurt the kid, and pulling him into a somewhat awkward embrace since he was still sitting down with Billy leaning over him.

"I'm sorry Billy, but I'm old. I fall asleep after I eat more often than not these days, and for some reason often sleep deeper sitting up than lying in bed. I didn't mean to scare you, son." Billy hugged back for a second before pulling away, still looking a bit concerned.

"You didn't even finish all your food, you dropped your sandwich." Billy pointed to the ground in front of Theo, who made a somewhat mournful face at the wasted food-Swiss cheese was expensive-but then shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I ate most of it first; the birds and the bugs will enjoy the rest, no harm done." Billy stared back seriously at his granddad's calm face and raised an eyebrow-unknowingly mimicking Lynn's "That's _not_ what I meant" face to a tee.

"Mister _Theo."_ His indignant tone of voice combined with his expression had Theo biting his cheek to keep from laughing, forcing it down so he could answer.

"Billy, I swear I'm fine. Now, let's see," Theo glanced down at his watch, "It's about six, we want to head back before too late, but I think we can stay for another half hour or so if you want.

Billy hesitated, wanting to stay, but not really sure it was a good idea. "You're 100% sure you're okay?"

"Yes buddy. I am 100% sure. If it's that big a deal we can make a stop at your Momma Lynn's and she can look me over, we have to pass it on my way to drop you off anyway." Billy looked even more wary at this, eyes dropping to the ground, and his sneaker toe starting to draw circles in the dirt.

"Um, well, if you say you're fine, I'm sure you're fine. You can just take me home; you shouldn't have to make an extra stop just because I'm being all paranoid and wimpy." Theo frowned, for two reasons.

"First of all, you don't call yourself names Billy Knox. I don't like it, and I've told you before not to do it. You are not wimpy, and if being concerned about your family's health makes you paranoid, then I must be too." Theo gave Billy a pointed look, and waited for him to nod, albeit reluctantly, before continuing, "Second, come sit down by me again, so we can talk about what happened with you and your Momma. I don't like this, you avoiding the family, and we're going to get to the bottom of it, one way or the other." Billy looked away from Theo, as though just avoiding eye contact would make the topic go away. Theo leaned over and patted the top of the rock next to him. "Billy."

Still looking away Billy reluctantly sidled over to the rock and settled next to Theo, saying nothing. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Billy shrugged, kicking at the ground. Theo decided to wait him out, and sure enough after a moment Billy broke the silence. "I screwed up." He shrugged his shoulders again, staring at his lap.

"Everyone messes up." Theo had not missed the trace of bitterness in Billy's soft voice.

Billy snorted dryly, "Yeah, but I have special talent in that area." He slanted a look at Theo, expecting to see him smiling but his face was serious. Theo was not amused.

"When I told you not to call yourself names I should have been more specific, I don't want you to go around badmouthing yourself at all, you hear?" Billy felt wrong-footed, and just kind of gaped at Theo. It wasn't the first time someone had told him not to talk crap about himself, but generally they laughed first.

"I was just kidding."

"Well, I don't think it's funny at all. Now, since apparently you missed this part before, I asked you if you heard me?" Theo raised a grey-white eyebrow, staring seriously at Billy as he waited for his answer.

"Yes sir," Billy wasn't entirely sure why this was such a big deal, but it didn't really matter, he wasn't stupid enough to tell Mister Theo no. Theo studied him for a moment, far from convinced but figured it might do more harm than good to press the issue, and nodded reluctantly.

"Alright, good. Now, you said you screwed up, and yes, I suppose you did. You know better than to be disrespectful or rude to your Momma Lynn, and you certainly shouldn't be cussing at her. But you apologized and were forgiven for it. I don't understand why that's so hard for you to believe, son." Theo looked imploring at Billy, hoping he would get an honest answer out of him. When Billy went to duck his head again Theo gently gripped his chin and raised it until their eyes met.

Billy for his part was beginning to thoroughly hate this conversation, "I…I don't know. I…wasn't just disrespectful and rude Mister Theo…I was mean, cruel, even," Billy's voice got louder and more lost sounding as he spoke, "And I don't even know why! I just blew up, and I said horrible things Mister Theo and even when you say sorry, everyone knows it doesn't really make up for it! You still_ did_ it." Theo took the hand that wasn't holding Billy's chin and moved it to his shoulder squeezing gently, but stayed quiet, sensing that the boy had more to say. "How can she forgive me, why should she forgive me, when I don't deserve it?"

Oh Billy. Theo found himself wishing his grandson was still a much smaller boy, so he could simply pick him up and hold him. Instead he pulled the boy as close to him as possible without pulling him into the gap between the rocks and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "First, forgiveness is a gift given to us by others, and it really isn't up to the person being forgiven to decide whether they're worthy of it. Second, well Billy, what you did wasn't that bad," Billy pulled away, turning slightly so he could look Theo in the eye, disbelief written across his face. Theo merely returned his look calmly and continued on, "Surely you can't think you're the only teenager to ever throw a fit? No, it wasn't an okay thing to do, but that doesn't make it despicable. If anything Billy-boy what you did was downright normal."

Billy looked away at that, wishing it both was and wasn't true. He wanted to be forgiven, but…"I told her she wasn't my mother, that we weren't really family." Billy clenched his eyes closed at this, waiting for Theo's arm to be withdrawn, and cruel words to come. He knew he deserved it.

Theo meanwhile would have been smiling-this more than likely was the crux of Billy's guilt, and it was really a very simple thing to talk about-if Billy hadn't practically flinched after his confession, his eyes closing and body stiffening reflexively. "Oh Billy, honey, that's normal too. So has nearly every child raised by someone who isn't a blood parent. Do you really think your Momma and Uncle never said that to me?" Actually, it was only about ten years ago he'd last heard that from Lynn, and less than that for Gavriil. In Theo's experience, it had absolutely nothing to do with the person saying it believing it, and everything to do with them needing the person they said it to to prove them wrong.

Billy for his part seemed to be actually processing this information, not entirely sure how to feel about it.

Yes, he really had thought there was no way Momma Lynn or Uncle Gav had ever said anything like that to Mister Theo. He'd thought it was a terrible thing to say, and Billy wasn't sure whether the fact that his grandfather didn't was more confusing or reassuring. "They did?"

"Yes, more than once, and I said similar things to Jeffery and Ester a time or two." Theo locked his gaze with Billy's, "I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't hurt to hear, because it does, but I'm sure just as I always knew it wasn't true, that your Momma Lynn knew as well. I'd wager she had already forgiven you for it by the time it left your mouth." Billy shook his head at that, and Theo let his face grow stern, "Yes, Billy, I'm sure she had. The only thing Lynn's upset about is that she hasn't seen you all week, you've worried her, son."

Billy looked down at this, ignoring Theo's unhappy noise as he broke eye contact, "I'm sorry if I worried her but…I don't see how she can, or why she bothers…I'm not sure I'm worth worrying about." There was silence for a moment, and then his Granddad's hand was on his chin again, forcing him to look right into his eyes. The intensity in them was a bit frightening, and Billy started to close his eyes, when Theo shook him by his chin, startling him into springing them open again.

"Don't you _ever, ever_, say that again." Mister Theo bore his eyes into Billy, his voice harsher than he was used too, "Never, ever again, you hear me? It is not true, and I will not let anyone tell such lies about you Billy, not even you. You are worth worrying about. You are worth loving. You are my family, my grandson, your mother's son, and there is not a damn thing you could ever do to change that. That will never change. You hear me?" Theo shook Billy again, gentler this time, but just as urgent.

Billy wanted to believe him…he wanted to believe him more than he had ever wanted to believe in anything before. He should know it was true, should be able to see how much his family loved him, Billy was smart enough to know that…it was somehow like he believed him and didn't at the same time. Most of Billy believed it, but there was always this little bit of doubt, small enough that most of the time even he didn't notice it, but when he did…it was like it came out of nowhere to smash into him wherever it would hurt most.

Theo looked at his grandson as the boy seemed to fold in on himself, face clearly showing how discomfited he was, how unsure, and decided to hell with his bad back. He moved the arm he had around Billy's shoulder down around the back of his waist and hauled the skinny boy up, the hand that had been on his chin moving down below his arm on his far side, under his armpit, so he could pull the boy sideways into his lap. Billy stiffened in surprise and embarrassment for a second and then let himself sag into Theo's arms. When a moment later, Billy turned himself so he could bury his head into his grandfather's neck, Theo considered it a victory.

"Listen to me, I can't make you believe it, but it doesn't change the fact that it's true. I love you. Your momma, your uncle, all your brothers and sisters, love you. The fact that we love you means we are going to worry about you when you're hurting, and right now you clearly are. You have every damn right to have that love, and the worry about your wellbeing that goes along with it. Anyone who ever makes you feel otherwise is an idiot at best, and a cruel bastard at worst." Billy buried himself further into Theo, still not saying a word, and Theo tightened his arms around him.

Theo sat there and continued to hold Billy for far longer than the half an hour they had intended to stay, the last rays of sunlight barely touching the far edge of the river as Theo propped an almost asleep Billy onto his feet, shouldering the tackle box and both poles on one side, Billy on the other as they walked back down the now mostly dark path.

Just as he'd intended all along Theo did take Billy home-to Lynn's where he belonged. On a Friday he knew that's where Dawn Knox would expect him to be anyway, and where Cammy already was. He hadn't been about to send the boy home to an empty house. Billy had given a token protest when he realized they hadn't gone where he expected, but the look on his face when Lynn had immediately engulfed him in a hug after opening the door had more than convinced Theo this was exactly where Billy wanted to be.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	11. Back to the future, Err, present

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy scooped another mouthful of cereal into his mouth, following the cheerios immediately with a spoonful of strawberry chunks. It was his second bowl in about ten minutes, and even though he knew his stomach would protest later, at the moment he was completely ravenous. Cammy made a disbelieving sound from where she and Alexis leaned on the counter watching him as he picked up one of the pieces of toast he'd made for himself, heavily slathered in both butter and peanut butter, and stuffed about half of it into his mouth the second he'd swallowed his cheerios. Billy looked up as he forced himself to swallow a bite so big it looked painful, speaking around the remainder of the food in his mouth, "What?"

"I think you just beat Brent for world's fastest eater, and possibly for worst manners too." Cammy stated this as though it were tragic, while Lexi rolled her eyes, but nodded. Billy just shrugged his shoulders and bent his head back down over his cereal bowl. He was far too hungry to worry about manners at the moment. Cammy was lucky he wasn't just pouring the cereal right into his mouth from the bowl.

Brent, rummaging around in the large closet that sufficed for a pantry in the back of the kitchen poked his head out, "I do _not_ have the world's _worst _manners. How in the world would you judge something like that anyway?" He paused for a second and then pointed at Billy, "I do however claim fastest eater-do not challenge me," before ducking back into the closet.

Cammy rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the silly smile off her face-she might have thought Brent had terrible table manners, but she was also pretty sure he was just about the funniest guy ever. Ignoring the sappy look on his sister's face, Billy turned to Lexi, opened his mouth, and then hastily closed it again to swallow his mouthful of cereal, "Where is everybody, anyway?"

Lexi sat down her own mostly finished sandwich on the counter behind her, wiping the bread crumbs still clinging to her hands on the side of her jeans as she spoke, "Pop left to open the store at like six, I know 'cause the truck woke me up, and Momma Lynn went into work even earlier, I think. Rick and Lily went home last night, like around eleven. They came by this morning, but you were still asleep and then Lily had a class at noon, and Rick drove her 'cause her truck's still loaded with furniture, and then he said he had to go talk to Henry and Liam." Billy nodded and looked down at his bowl again, his appetite suddenly fading. He sloshed his spoon slowly around the bowl sure he was being stupid, but unable to not feel a bit abandoned.

Lexi must have picked up on this, because she spoke up again, "Momma Lynn should be home in just a couple of hours, and Rick and Lily said they were coming back for dinner, I'm sure Pop is too." Billy just nodded, trying not to feel even more stupid, because hearing that they were coming back soon had sent a wave of relief through him, and what was he, five? He sighed and continued to slowly move his spoon around the bowl, wondering if Jet, the ancient sheep-dog currently sleeping on his feet would eat it even with strawberries mixed in.

Deciding he might as well try, Billy let out a soft whistle as he bent under the table, and Jet lifted his great shaggy head up, blinking once at him and then attempting to slime his cheek with a very slobbery tongue. Used to that, Billy leaned slightly back and moved the bowl to where Jet could smell it, "You want a treat, Buddy?" He moved the bowl down in front of the dog, smiling slightly when he shoved his nose into Billy's hand as he set it down, telling him to hurry as surely as if he could speak. That dog was practically a garbage disposal. After a moment of thought he passed down the plate with the last of his toast too.

As he began to pull out from the table and straighten, he heard Cammy call out "Good morning, Mister Theo!" followed by slightly quieter greetings from Lexi and Brent. For a moment Billy considered diving under the table and doing….okay he didn't know, trying to crawl out of the room maybe, or hide behind Jet…he was a pretty big dog…

Thoroughly embarrassed at his own train of thought, he straightened up and turned in his seat to offer his own greeting to their grandfather. "Morning, Mister Theo."

Theo smiled at them all, gaze lingering on Billy who tried not to squirm, before he announced to the room in general, "I'd return your good mornings, but its one o'clock in the afternoon. So, good afternoon." As the rest of the room chuckled and nodded a bit sheepishly (most of them had still been asleep at the time of day Theo considered morning), Billy found himself staring at the ground by the table, not sure what to do next. He needn't have bothered worrying, because Mister Theo's loafers soon appeared in his vision, and his hand came to rest on his shoulder, somehow comforting and ominous at the same time, "What say you, we go take a walk around the neighborhood for a bit Billy?"

Billy nodded and slowly pushed back from the table, "Yeah, um, just let me get my dishes first?" It was very much a question, but before Theo could answer, Cammy spoke up from behind them.

"Don't worry about it; we'll take care of them, Billy." Uncertain whether to be grateful or annoyed he nodded to his sister, and let Theo guide him out of the room. There was a pause for a moment from the others, and then as they heard the front door close, Lexi shook her head in sympathy.

"Does anyone else think that even with a smile on his face Mister Theo is way scarier than Pop and Momma Lynn combined?" She received fervent nods from Brent and Cammy, Cammy looking a bit like she wanted to go rescue her brother.

"Dude, where do you think they learned it from?" Brent plopped down at the table, with a sandwich that appeared to be regular PB& J until you saw the layer of nacho cheese chips crunched up under the bread, "There like, his apprentices in the art of intimidation." He paused, clearly for dramatic effect, and continued, "Someday they may pass on this knowledge to us." He took a large bite out of his sandwich, ignoring the face both girls made at his lunch choice.

It was frickin delicious; they just didn't know what they were missing out on.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick pulled his car into the small parking lot outside Wilson Cabinetry and Construction, and as he shifted it into park told himself firmly that he was doing the right thing. He knew the others, in particular Uncle Gav, whose…words about his aborted attack plan for Mayfeather were still playing at the edge of Rick's mind, would not be pleased if they knew what he was planning, let alone that he was planning to bring other people in on family business without discussing it with them.

He knew he was in for the very least an earful when, not if, but when he was found out, and that was only if things actually unfolded the way he was envisioning. If things went wrong…well he might wind up in trouble with far scarier people than even his Momma Lynn.

Allowing himself a small smile at his admittedly lame joke, Rick squared his shoulders and stepped out onto the pavement, moving purposefully towards the front door. He could already see Liam, curious because Rick wasn't working today, peering at him through the plate glass, Henry leaning on the work bench next to him, and Rick raised a hand in greeting at the older man.

Funnily enough, it never occurred to him until later that either of his friends might not like his plan much either.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy trudged along after his Granddad trying not to let his apprehension show. They'd been walking for a few minutes now, and except for returning Mrs. Monroe's greeting as they walked by her garden, he'd yet to say a word. Mister Theo didn't seem angry, or even particularly upset-but that was Mister Theo, and not exactly promising.

When he most wanted to get through to a person, needed to pass on a lesson or prove a point, he tended to stay very calm. The calmer Mister Theo was the more trouble you were in, had been one of the few consistent rules of his childhood. Oh he'd scold, and you could tell he was upset, furious even, but he never completely came unglued, even when you could tell he wanted to, not if it was important-the few times Billy had seen him lose his temper it was over something silly, or easily resolved, and he calmed down just as quickly. When it really mattered, Theo kept his head no matter what was going on.

Billy was certain that his grandfather knew-

A. How much more intimidating it was than outright yelling.

B. It was very hard to be anything but honest when he looked at you like that.

At least Billy could never lie to him when he had that look in his eyes, but then, Billy hated lying to Mister Theo in general. He could when he had to, and he had plenty of times over the years-mostly about his mom being home when she wasn't-but no matter what the reason he always felt guilty for ages afterwards. When Mister Theo was so focused on him, so earnest even when upset, Billy could never bring himself to lie, and wasn't certain he would be able to pull it off anyway if he tried.

Billy slanted a look over at his grandfather only to realize that the old man was eying him up and down appraisingly. "Mister Theo?" He almost regretted breaking the silence the second those eyes focused upwards on him. Yes, Mister Theo was very calm, but there was actual anger in his eyes, along with the usual reproach and concern there when he scolded. Billy was not used to that and flinched slightly, looking away. He heard a slightly exasperated sigh and then Theo's hand was on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"I know you've been ripped up one way and down the other in the last day or so, and you're probably thoroughly tired of getting yelled at, but I'm afraid it's my turn now. You've hurt yourself Billy, damaged your body. I've seen those faces of meth commercials you know, seen the horrible effects this can have on a person. Do you really expect me not to be angry about that?" His granddad's voice was patient but very stern, sterner and more serious than Billy thought he had ever heard it, and he shook his head, still looking at the ground. Theo sighed again, "C'mon, there's a bench up here at the bus stop, let's sit down and talk awhile."

Billy nodded and trailed after his Mister Theo, head lifted just enough he wouldn't trip over anything on the sidewalk and kill himself.

This was going to be another long day.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil smiled distractedly, mind mostly focused on home, and thanked his last customer as he handed her change back, "Thank you Mrs. Reyes, have a nice day now." He turned back to the line and fought to control his expression as he realized that somehow without him realizing Artie Mayfeather had entered his store and was standing behind his next set of customers. That the man in the dirty flannel was eyeing the two girls, who Gavriil knew to be friends of Cammy's and only about 16, up and down, did not help at all. He knew he couldn't let on if the plan he and Lynn and Theo had started to form last night, or any other for that matter, was to have any hope of working…

But god, it would almost be worth it to smash that motherfucker in the face and scream for him to get his child corrupting ass out of Gavriil's store…

Instead he rang up the two girls sodas, exchanging pleasantries and promising to tell Cammy they said hello, and made sure to keep his neutral "costumer approved" smile on his face as he turned to Mayfeather and rang up his beer. As the man walked out of the store Gavriil consoled himself with the fact that he would get his.

He would get what he had earned.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"So then if-"

"No." Rick looked up in surprise to see Liam looking at him over the rim of his glasses, face looking like it was set in stone.

"What?" Rick glanced over at Henry for support, who just shrugged his shoulders and looked away. Rick scowled as he realized he would get no help from that quarter, and turned back to Liam who had set down the piece of wood he'd been idly carving. "C'mon, why not? If you guys help it will be way easier."

"No," said Liam, face still set, "That's gotta be one of the stupidest plans I've ever heard, and not only are we not helping, _you _are not doing it either." Rick opened his mouth to protest, and Liam held up a large calloused hand, "This is not a real life opportunity to reenact the plot of Porky's, we are not staging any sort of attack on Mayfeather's trailer or bar or anywhere else."

"I have to do something!" Rick clenched his hands and seethed, and Liam, used to his temper, didn't miss a beat.

"Sure, something. _Not_ that." Calm, but utterly unmovable, he once again picked up the length of wood-a handle for something Rick thought-and began working at it. "Henry are you ready to go pick up our lunch order at Sally's?"

"Yes boss," said Henry standing up and grabbing his jacket off the top of the workbench he'd been leaning on, eager to escape the tension.

"Good. Take Rick with you. Get him something too." Henry stifled a groan, not exactly happy about carting around anyone in such a foul mood, and nodded. He'd kind of been hoping the two would have hashed this out by the time he got back.

"Sure," He headed towards the door, jerking his head at Rick to tell him to follow. Rick for his part just sat there, now confused as well as angry.

"I'm good; I can just take off-"

Liam casually shook his head, "You just said you were free till dinner time and wanted to visit. No need to run off. You can show me your progress on the Ockham design if you want."

Rick who had been wanting to show Liam his work on that for a while hesitated, "…Well I kinda need to go check on Billy…"

"No, you want to go find someone you think will go along with your little plan. Not happening." Liam picked up a rag and wiped the dust off his carving, before setting to work again. "Go with Henry."

"Why? You want to keep an eye on me so bad, why don't I just stay here?" Henry, who had been leaning against the doorjamb wondering pretty much the same thing, winced at the obstinate tone in Rick's voice. That kid was really looking to get his ass kicked today.

"Because you're very close to pissing me off. That a good enough reason?" Liam flicked his eyes up just once to land on Rick's face before looking down at his work. Most of the anger had given way to apprehension. Good.

"Okay boss, I'm going, I'm going." Rick pushed himself up, still seeming to maintain his angry slouch as he crossed over to where Henry was trying to pretend like he hadn't been listening. Liam nodded in satisfaction-he rarely got a "boss" out of Rick even on the job, if he was calling him that now he'd been sufficiently cowed. He got the anger, he really did, but Rick was lucky he'd chucked the attitude-some of it anyway-when he did.

Liam watched until both men had loaded up into the work truck, and Henry was backing out before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He'd been serious when he told Rick his plan was stupid and not going to happen-but that didn't mean there was nothing to be done. Rick had brought his brothers and sisters by the shop plenty of times since he'd started his apprenticeship three years ago, and frankly Liam liked Billy, he was a genuinely nice kid which was pretty damn rare.

As he started dialing the first of the numbers that he thought could help make that bastard Artie's life miserable-he could put a word in quite a few peoples ears and the man would find his work opportunities drying up sooner than later-he smiled to himself. It was a damn good thing that boy was so good with his hands, because he couldn't strategize worth a damn. The only thing his plan-if you could call it that-would have accomplished was getting them all killed.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"My momma was a cocaine addict. She died from it when I was six. Overdosed right in front of me." Billy gaped at Mister Theo from where he sat. That was not what he had been expecting to hear at all when Theo sat him down on the bench next to him. His grandfather never talked about his biological family-ever. It was a subject everyone knew not to broach, and the tightness in his shoulders and voice made it clear it was very hard for him even now.

"Mister Theo…I'm sorry, that's, that's awful." Theo shook his head jerkily, and held up a hand to silence Billy, who stilled right away.

"I'm not looking for sympathy, honey." Billy flushed, though not entirely unhappily, at the unexpected term of endearment. Terms like honey, or sweetie, tended to be reserved for the girls, whereas Billy was generally "buddy" or sometimes "pal" to Mister Theo. "It was 77 years ago now, and I could hardly remember her by the time I was a teenager, let alone now. I even got over my anger about it a long time ago. When she first started using she was just a teenager and it was meant to be medicine. It was prescribed to her for a nervous condition, which probably means depression, and by the time it became prohibited she was extremely addicted. Her and my Daddy's marriage was an unhappy one and I've never been entirely sure…"

Mister Theo seemed to come back to himself, shaking his head. "That's not the point." He turned towards Billy, expression growing stern again, "The point is I've already lost enough people to addictions and vices, and I'll be damned if it happens again, especially to my grandson. I'm going to be watching you awfully closely for a very long time, and I don't want to hear any complaints about it at all, you hear?" Billy nodded, still reeling from his new information, and so didn't notice at first when his grandfather leaned even closer, until a severe sounding "and Billy?" reached his ears, and he looked up into a face that had gone from stern to ferocious.

"Yes sir?" Billy tried not to let on just how much he was quaking in his boots as Theo pinned him with his eyes.

"If you ever, ever, touch drugs like that again-I'm not talking about that pot you kids smoke, although I don't think that's the smartest thing in the world either-but hard drugs, and you can forget all about dealing with Rick, or even your Uncle. I'm the head of this family, and it'll be me you'll answer too." Theo kept his gaze steady on Billy waiting for his response.

"I…does that mean?..." Billy flushed and attempted to drop his eyes, but Theo's hand was suddenly underneath his chin, forcing him to keep meeting his gaze.

"It means exactly what you think it means. If I, or anyone else, catch you with crystal meth, or crank, or cocaine, or any other type of hard drug I will turn you over my knee and tan your hide like it has never been tanned before. You hear?"

With his face so hot he was sure it looked like he was on fire, Billy nodded and managed to mumble out a "Yes sir…I'm _really _sorry, Mister Theo." Theo nodded in satisfaction, angry look melting from his face, though a quiet sort of sadness lingered, hand patting Billy's knee.

"Well, alright then. Apology accepted. Far as I'm concerned you and I are good. How about we head back to the house? Make sure your sisters and brother haven't burned it down yet." Billy stood up and held out a hand for Mister Theo, who would never use a cane, even though they all knew it hurt him to put much weight on his right leg. As he went to start walking after Theo was up a hand on his shoulder suddenly stopped him. He turned back around and was surprised to see tears in his Granddad's eyes.

"Mister Theo?" Theo reached out and pulled Billy to him, crushing the boy, who may have been taller than him now but was still so very, very young, to himself.

"I'm sorry Billy. I'm sorry I didn't protect you from this." Theo's voice was thick with unshed tears, and Billy had to swallow the lump in his own throat before he could answer.

"I'm the one who messed up. You-you didn't do anything wrong Mister Theo…" Billy wasn't sure what else to say. He _had_ been the one to mess up, and he'd done his best to stop his family really having a chance to interfere, or stop him.

"It's my job to protect you Billy, our family's job to protect each other. It was my job to realize there was something wrong with you, and to put a stop to it and I didn't. I'm sorry." When Billy opened his mouth to protest this Theo shushed him and went on, "All you need to do now is accept my apology; you're not going to change my mind on this one Billy." Billy nodded, still not sure he agreed, but if it was important to Mister Theo he wasn't going to argue. Theo reached up to ruffle Billy's hair, realized just how tall his grandson was now and settled for patting him on the back instead, "Thank you, Billy-boy."

*.*.*.*.*.*

As they drove away from the diner, with a plastic bag full of styrofoam containers, Rick let out the third angry huff in as many minutes, and Henry briefly fantasized about shoving him out the door at the next stop light. He wouldn't, of course, but the image satisfied him until the next huff hit his ear. "Oh for god's sake, will you quit acting like something crawled up your butt and died?"

Rick shot a quick glare over at Henry and snapped, "Hey, thanks loads for your help back there," in about the most sarcastic tone he thought he'd ever heard. With a sigh Henry pulled his cigarette pack out of his shirt pocket, flipping the top up and shaking one out.

As he lit it, grousing to himself about people who were too old to through tantrums, Rick huffed again, and Henry spoke around the marb protruding from his mouth, "You know what? Liam was right, your plan was stupid, that's why I didn't argue. Also, if you huff one more time I'm going to shove you right out of this truck and you can walk back."

Rick was quiet for a moment, and then spoke up, a tad more subdued, "Liam would kick your ass if you came back without me."

"Right now it would be worth it."

"Sorry." There was another pause, and then "Was my plan _that _bad?" There was just a hint of indignation and obstinance back in Rick's voice and Henry rolled his eyes at his friend's quick recovery before becoming serious.

"Yes. About as bad as the one you had last spring that led to us getting into a bar fight and then arrested, only a lot more dangerous. A plan like that goes wrong, you'll wind up having to do something a lot worse than calling your uncle for bail money." Both men shuddered at that-Henry hadn't used his call but when Gavriil had shown up he'd bailed out both of them. By the end of his lecture Henry had earnestly wished he'd just been left in jail.

"Okay…I know you're right. Hell, I knew it was a dangerous plan in the first place-I guess I just thought it would be worth it." Rick seemed defeated, which was completely unlike him and weirded Henry out a bit.

"Hey, it's not like anyone blames you for wanting to destroy that dickweed. Hell, I'd feel the same way if it was Susie, but you have to be smart about it. You go getting yourself killed how does that help Billy?" Henry wondered if normal people wound up having to scold their friends for forming suicidal revenge plots, and then figured, no, it was only him that could happen to.

"First of all, your sister is thirteen, I'm pretty sure you have a few more years before you have to worry about crap like this. Second, okay, yes, you're right. The plan is stupid, but I have to do something." Rick was sounding stubborn again, even as his words indicated he was giving in, and Henry was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Braking for a stop light he waited till the truck was at a complete stop, before turning seriously to Rick, "Tell me you're not still planning to go through with this?"

Rick shrugged his shoulders and kept his head turned forward, "Okay, I'm not planning to go through with it."

"Rick!"

Rick turned towards him, all his frustration showing in his face again, "Dammit Henry, what do you want me to say? Billy is my baby brother! You just said you'd feel the same way if it were Susie!" The two stared at each other, both breathing heavy until a car honked behind them and Henry turned away with a curse.

There was a moment of heavy silence, broken as they turned onto the block that held their office, "There's really nothing I can do to talk you out of this is there?" Henry's voice sounded pained and frustrated, and Rick shook his head firmly sensing he had already won.

"Nope. I have to do it."

"Fine!" Henry slammed his hand on the steering wheel once as they turned into the parking lot, then again, and Rick wondered if he had pushed too far, "Fine! I'm not gonna let you get killed. Where do you want to meet?"

"Seriously?" Rick tried not to gloat at his victory, but judging from the glare his friend shot him was not successful. "Okay, okay, how about Whiling Park, tomorrow? 10 o'clock?"

"Fine." Henry was clearly still pissed, but Rick was all smiles. When they carried the food in Liam found himself wondering what the hell had happened to cause the two to come back with their moods basically reversed.

He really hoped he was wrong about why Rick was looking so smug…

*.*.*.*.*.*

"…and if it ever happens again just kick him in the balls." Brent said this utterly seriously to Lexi as she finished complaining about a guy in her math class who wouldn't quit hitting on her.

"Brent, I can't just go around kicking people in the balls." Lexi said this exasperatedly but with a hint of a smile on her face as Cammy passed her the joint they were smoking, now close to being a roach.

Brent threw up his hands, waving them in the air by his head, "Fine then, I'll just have to kick him in the balls for you!"

Passing the quickly shrinking joint to her brother, Lexi tried not to laugh but failed, choking a bit on the smoke in her lungs. Cammy tried to help by pounding on her back lightly, but her aside to Brent that, "You can't just go around kicking people in the balls either, you know. Even if they do deserve it." just set her off again.

*.*.*.*.*.*

The second her shift was over Lynn practically scurried to the break room to clock-out. As she swiped her employee id in the small box, and then typed her code, immediately crossing the room to the lockers to grab her purse, rather than stopping to look at the announcements on the bulletin board or calling goodbyes to her friends, she had nothing on her mind but getting home.

When she left the room in an equal hurry, simply tossing a smile to Janice Garcia when she tried to ask what the rush was, everyone exchanged looks of mixed bemusement and concern. That was not the usual calm, collected Lynn they were used too.

An elderly woman, Beatrice Prince, who had worked with Lynn for nearly twenty years now, and had seen her like this a few times before smiled to herself and spoke calmly over the gossip, "It's one of her children of course. It's the one thing that can make that girl lose her head."

"Wouldn't surprise me a bit," Piped up Angie Cornwell, letting out an small, bitter, snort, "One of those nasty little bastards t.p'd my house a few years ago, right before a big rain too. That's what comes of taking in children not your own, bad blood always shows." The tempature in the room seemed to drop as several people glared at her as one, most of the others turning their backs. One young orderly, who'd gone to school with both Lily and Rick, spoke fiercely back.

"I heard about that-it only happened 'cause you made a comment just like that, and you did it in front of the baby. On her birthday." Manuel Espinoza stared the older woman down, voices whispering in the background encouraging him, "I don't think anybody but you blames them a bit for that."

Angie, a small, bitter faced woman, put down her coffee and sneered at the indignant young man. "I hope it comes as no surprise to you Manuel, that no one here really gives a crap what you think."

"Actually I'm pretty sure it's you whose opinion we don't care about," snapped Laurie Bell, "you can start keeping it to yourself anytime now." The others in the room nodded, most eyeing her seriously and after a moment she got up and stormed away.

A quiet voice spoke then, amusement clear in Beatrice Prince's tone as it trailed through the room, "I heard it was Gavriil and Lynn who did the t. actually."

*.*.*.*.*.*


	12. The Wild Woods

A/N: I am so sorry for the long delay! It was a variety of life craziness and sadness that I will explain in an longer author's note below if you are interested.

Here it is the long awaited new chapter, which focuses a little more on some other members of the family, although the main plot is still steadily plugging away through the background.

**Please Reread Chapter 7!**

I recommend going back and reading at least chapter seven, and maybe eleven(what used to be chapter nine), before this-chapter seven is a whole new chapter after the opening scene, and eleven should get you back on track with what is happening in the story.

Thank you for your patience and enjoy!

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick pulled open the garage door, and went to usher Lily in in front of him, when he was suddenly hit by a wall of smoke. He waved a hand by his face, coughing and then looked at the four sheepish faces sitting in a circle in front of him. "You guys have been smoking entirely too much weed lately." He shook his head and walked past them, hearing Lily start in behind him.

"With Mister Theo here? Really guys?"

"He's asleep." said Cammy, trying to look innocent, "We hung out and watched old movies and stuff, but he fell asleep like an hour and a half ago."

"We got bored." Brent shrugged, "We already made dinner like we were supposed to-well I tried to help but they kicked me out of the kitchen-but it's made and all ready to go."

"Dude, you tried to grate a bell pepper." Lexi said this as though she were still in disbelief about it. "Who the hell grates a bell pepper?"

"Well forgive me for trying something new!" Brent tossed his hands in the air, "It would have been a hell of a lot faster than chopping it, and if you'd just let me show you-"

"You didn't even core it first, dumbass, there would have been seeds all through it. Also-you can't grate a bell pepper! It ruins the texture, you…you just have no business in a kitchen. You're like cursed, or bad luck or something." Lexi shook her head, clearly feeling the subject was closed.

Brent opened his mouth to respond, but Billy reached out and covered it, snatching his hand away and pointing at Lily before Brent could lick it in retaliation. Lily, unlike the rest of them did not seem at all amused.

"You're bored so you hotbox the garage? The _entire _garage?" The kids looked at each other in confusion-okay so they'd burned a few joints in a row; it still wasn't _that_ smoky in here. Clearly, Lily was insane. As though reading their train of thought, Lily sighed, and said, "Yes, yes, actually you did. When the door opened smoke billowed out for at least fifteen seconds, and it's _still_ smoky in here. That's not cool guys. And it reeks-okay I like the smell, and so do you guys, and let's face it, we all know that even if they only do it once a month on their night out, Momma and Uncle Gav smoke too, and if we're lucky won't really notice it. What about Mister Theo-you're supposed to go outside if he's here and you know it-or with as much smoke as you were producing and not giving a chance to dissipate, the neighbors?"

Cammy blinked at her, face now honestly innocently confused, "Don't they all already know that we smoke?" Cammy had heard people call them stoners-most half affectionately, though not all-far too many times to hold any illusions that they hadn't been found out about a million times over. The sheriff had caught them once-well her and Lexi anyway-and just let them go. Of course, nobody else knew about that…

Also, he'd taken their weed, and Cammy was still 100% certain he'd smoked it, even if Lexi said that was ridiculous.

Rick who had come back in unnoticed, said, "So not the point and you know it," as he sprayed a can of air freshener around the room, "Put it away for the night, okay? In fact, I'm going to say put it away until tomorrow night at the earliest." He frowned for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, never mind that's barely even a full day. I'm thinking the day after tomorrow sounds better." Rick thought for another moment, pretending he didn't see the younger ones practically holding their breaths, willing him to change his mind, and nodded his head decisively. "Yep, Tuesday night sounds about right to me."

Lily nodded in agreement, surprised but pleased at Rick putting his foot down, as the kids spluttered in protest-honestly they'd been done for the night anyway, and most everybody had work or school the next day, but it still grated a bit to be told they couldn't-and held up her hand to silence them, "I think that's a very good idea. The rule has always been not to smoke too many days in a row, and this is what-the third for all of you? And you," She directed a _look_ at Cammy, who straightened up automatically, "You aren't supposed to be smoking on school nights, are you?" She carried on without waiting for an answer, much to Cammy's relief.

"You've all been smoking too much and you know it, and it's not as though either of us are going to be smoking either-the break is for everybody. He could have said not till next weekend, or longer, and none of you would have a bit of room to argue. In fact…it really should be longer." Lily trailed off thoughtfully, and her brothers and sisters faces fell, but she shook her head and went on-no need for her or Rick to punish themselves, "I know the sleepover hasn't really ended for you guys yet, but come on-this was pushing it."

Rick grinned at Lily, enjoying the way she could take charge of a situation with just her words, and then turned back to his younger siblings, teasing, "So quit your bitchin'." There was a pause, and then, "So-what's for dinner?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

As they sat down to a dinner of fried chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salad and rolls (Lexi had made the fried chicken, corn, and the batter for the rolls. Cammy had made the pasta salad, just a suddenly salad mix, but she spiced it up by making the sauce with sour cream and a bit of milk instead of mayonnaise, and adding lots of veggies. Billy, who knew his culinary limits, had chopped the veggies, and then vacated the kitchen posthaste, in favor of watching Perry Mason with Mister Theo. Brent had, after much wheedling and apologizing for the "Green Pepper Massacre", been allowed to spray the muffin tin and scoop the batter into the slots. No one had really been surprised when a third of them stuck to the tray.) Lynn smacked her brother's hand as he reached for a piece of chicken, "Wait for Daddy, Rick's waking him up." Gavriil pulled his hand back by his plate, glaring a bit, but not saying anything. For his sister to seemingly unconsciously call their father Daddy rather than his first name as she usually did, indicated she was far more upset and stressed out about the situation than she'd been letting on. Of course, that really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise.

He would have to try and talk to her later, now with the children sitting down around them, was not the time. Instead he directed his attention around the table. Lily, Billy and Lexi were already seated, and Theo and Rick were coming in through the doorway, but where were Brent and Cammy? As he opened his mouth to question who had seen them last, a faint thumping sound followed by squeaking drifted down from the upstairs, and Gavriil's mouth dropped open as he placed what it sounded like.

No, no way…Lexi said what most of the table was apparently thinking judging from their faces, "They can't be _that_ stupid." bursting from her lips, bringing a round of nervous laughter from her siblings. Gavriil pushed himself back from the table and before anyone could protest was marching his way out of the kitchen, and up the stairs. He wasn't foolish enough to believe his children didn't have sex, but in the middle of a family dinner? Really?

Okay, and maybe the idea of his baby girl, his youngest niece, having sex, kind of made him want to punch something. Not his nephew of course, but something. He was adult enough to know he was being irrational, and ignore it.

Maybe.

He swung open the door without knocking when he reached Brent's room, intent on reading them the riot act and-paused.

It took him a minute to process the scene in front of him, and when he did he sighed in relief, sagging against the doorway with a smile. Brent and Cammy _were_ on his bed-jumping around on it as they engaged in a cross between a pillow fight and a tickle war. He had no doubt that it would lead to kissing and some petting if the two were left to their own devices long enough, but that was just fine, adorable even, compared to what he'd thought he was going to find.

No man wants to be forced to break up a sex act involving his child right before he eats.

He knocked on the door frame, and smiled when the two realized they had an audience, turning towards him and blushing slightly at being caught in their flirting, "It's time for you two to wash up for dinner, we're all waiting for you downstairs."

"Oops sorry, we didn't realize it had been that long," Cammy said shrugging apologetically as she hopped gracefully off the bed, Brent thudding to the floor after her. Rather than leaving, Gavriil moved to the side to let them pass him. As Cammy slipped out the doorway, Gav put a light hand on Brent's shoulder signaling him to stay.

"What's up?" asked Brent, and Gavriil just smiled at him, before pulling him in for a brief hug and ruffling his hair.

"I'm proud of you."

"Um, thanks, but for what?" Brent pulled back from his uncle, looking at him in mild confusion.

"For being a more honorable young man then I was at your age." Gavriil ruffled Brent's hair again before disappearing down the hallway towards the stairs, leaving Brent to stare bemusedly in front of him.

"Okay then…?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy stared at her sisters in disbelief from where she sat on the floor in Lily's old room, not sure whether to be more angry or mortified. "They thought we were doing _what?_" She crossed her arms across her chest protectively as two angry red circles formed on her cheeks, standing out vividly against her light skin.

"Well," Lexi said hesitantly, "that's what it sounded like, so-"

"So they should still know me and Brent wouldn't have _SEX _upstairs with everybody else downstairs! Did you think that too? We wouldn't-we haven't-we haven't even-" Cammy started to sob as she spoke, jumping up to run out of the room as she realized she couldn't hold them back anymore. Lily started up after her, hand outstretched, but Cammy shouted over her shoulder for her to "Leave me alone!" and she slumped back to the floor, guilty and upset.

"Well, fuck." said Lexi, burying her face in her hands with a sigh, "We screwed that one up."

"We never should have told her," Lily agreed, "no matter how many times she asked what was up at dinner. We'll give her a couple of minutes and then see if we can calm her down."

"Yeah, okay-" The sound of the backdoor swinging shut hit their ears, knocking whatever Lexi had been about to say out of her mind, as the two girls looked towards each other, eyes going wide as they realized what was about to happen.

"The forest?"

"Oh yeah," Lily nodded, "And she won't be found until she wants to be." Cammy knew the forest-not just the little woods at the end of the cul-de-sac, but the river and forest well past their little creek-like the back of her hand, and unlike most of the rest of them had no trouble climbing across the "tree bridge", an ancient oak that's top had fallen sideways, stretching across the end of the creek to rest on the nearly forty foot embankment on the other side, connecting their small pocket with the larger forest behind, the only way to get to it without walking at least a mile or two down the creek one way or the other.

"Rick should be able to find her shouldn't he? I mean, he's the one who taught her all that stuff back when she used to tag after him everywhere." Lexi had never admitted it but she'd been a little jealous of Cammy as she'd shared her new knowledge, how to identify plants and trees, how to do various bird whistles-but she'd also respected it. So many people looked at Cammy's blonde hair and elaborately painted nails, and assumed she couldn't be interested in stuff like that. Rick had known better.

"Maybe…he hasn't spent nearly as much time in the woods as he usually does this last year or so, not as much time as Cammy does, but..." Lily bit her lip softly, shaking her head in dismay.

"Do you think anybody will believe she figured it out on her own somehow?"

"No. Not even if it were true."

"We're dead."

Lily stood determinedly, and held out a hand for Lexi, who took it with a groan and let herself be hauled to her feet. "First thing, we check and make sure she isn't just in the backyard. If she isn't…"

"We submit ourselves to the firing squad, I get it."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick stared between his fiancé and his little sister for a minute, before shaking his head and standing abruptly, "It's getting dark; I'm going to go find her."

"I'm going with you," said Brent, determinedly, glaring at pretty much everyone, as though daring them to say no.

"So am I," said Gavriil, standing and going for the coat rack at the door of the den.

Lexi spoke up then, voice subdued, "We didn't mean to upset her, but she wanted to know what was going on."

"We're all to blame for jumping to conclusions," said Theo tiredly, "Someone would have let the story slip eventually, it just happened to be you two."

Rick growled lightly, apparently disagreeing and stormed out of the room, calling for Gavriil and Brent to hurry as he left.

Gavriil sighed and ran a hand over his hair, before turning to Billy who was looking more shocked than anything else. He was the one who ran-he hadn't been expecting it from Cammy. "Can you think of anything that might help us find Cammy faster?"

Billy shook his head slowly, still thinking, "No, but if she was upset enough to actually run and hide, she's not thinking clearly. She'll be hard to find, and I doubt she'll come home on her own, even if she wants to."

"Alright." Gavriil nodded reflexively, "Alright, thank you. Everyone take turns calling her cellphone every ten minutes or so. No more than that or we'll kill her battery." He stood there for a moment, as though lost, when the front door opened again, Rick calling for them.

"Am I looking for her myself or what? We're losing daylight!" Brent who had been hovering by the doorway waiting for his uncle hurried away, Gavriil following after with renewed purpose.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn sighed as she took in Lexi's ever-so-slightly trembling lip, and the slight shine to Lily's eyes in her otherwise composed face. "Girls." When they looked over at her she patted the cushions on either side of her in invitation. Lexi didn't need to be asked twice and moved to curl against Lynn's left side, but Lily shook her head, straightening her back and pushing herself deeper into the cushions of the loveseat.

"I'm fine."

Lynn looked at her imploringly for a moment, before nodding, "Alright love." Theo, who tended not to truck with such things as whether someone thought they needed a hug or not, pushed himself out of his armchair and walked the short distance to sit next to Lily. As he placed his arms around his granddaughter, pulling her to his side, he cut off any protests before she could get them out of her mouth.

"Hush. I know you're fine, you already said so. You ever think maybe I needed a hug?" Lily quirked her lips against her will as she returned her grandfather's hug. Theo looked over at Billy, who was watching them all silently, still looking a bit lost. "Think I'll need a hug from you next."

Billy smiled weakly in response, appreciating Theo's effort, but his thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"So that's why you said you were proud of me? Because you didn't catch me and Cammy having sex like you thought you were going to? Seriously?" Brent was angry, but Gavriil heard the undercurrent of hurt in his voice, and turned towards his nephew, who had been steadily working himself up for the past fifteen minutes as they walked through the woods. Rick had gone ahead, circling around areas he knew Cammy liked; well they took up the rear.

"Brent…"

"I know I haven't exactly done a lot to be proud of, I'm not as smart or accomplished as the others, but seriously? That's why you're proud of me?" Brent's voice was thick at the end, and Gavriil reached out for him, horrified as the words caught up to him. He had thought the boy was upset at what they'd thought, not that he had somehow twisted the meaning of his words to _that_.

"Brent, no, c'mere, look at me." He grabbed his nephew by the arm as he tried to walk past him, pulling him around to face him, ignoring it when Brent tried to jerk his arm free, "What I _meant_ was the way you treat Cammy makes me proud, and I think it's something I'm entitled to feel pride in-but it is certainly far from the only reason I have. You have done a million things that I am proud of, you are constantly making me proud, you hear?" Brent refused to look at him, staring off over his shoulder, holding his face stiff, "You are kind and funny, you always know how to make the best out of a bad situation. You're hardworking-"

"I work at the Boys and Girls club the next town over, big whoop." Brent's voice was bitter and self-recriminating and Gavriil resisted the urge to shake him, because dammit he _was _proud of his boy, and no one, not even Brent, got to tell him otherwise.

"Those kids _adore _you. We can't walk through this town or that one without one of them running up to say hello to "Teacher Brent". You've worked hard building up relationships with them, _and_ designing activities and programs for the whole club. Every time I run into your boss she has to stop and rave about how amazing you are, how you're always willing to take on more, how when things get crazy and there's kids having meltdowns left and right, and the rest of the adults are so frustrated they're about to join them, you're in the middle calming everyone down. I am incredibly proud of the work you've done there, and you should be just as proud." Gavriil stared right into Brent's eyes as he said this, holding him with his gaze. Brent swallowed, and then blushed.

"I'm sorry, I'm freaking out, and we're supposed to be looking for Cammy, and I just…I'm being stupid, and I'll stop now."

"Hey, no. I hurt your feelings, made you feel like I wasn't proud of you, not legitimately anyway. Didn't mean to, but I still did. We do need to keep looking for Cammy, but we're going to talk about this later, okay?" He moved his hand from Brent's arm to the back of his head, cupping it briefly, before gesturing for the boy to start walking again, keeping himself close for the moment as they walked.

"Does Shreya really stop you to brag about me?"

"Yes. At least ten times in just the past year. She told me once that you're the best thing to happen to that place in years."

Brent considered this for a moment, a shocked sort of smile playing over his face. "Wow. That's awesome." They walked for a few more minutes, trudging over roots and blackberry brambles, the walk decidedly different now that some of the earlier tension had faded, before Brent spoke again. "Momma was saying she thinks I should look into something like that, study education. I don't think I want to be a teacher, but I thought maybe I could do something cool, like design after school programs or camps that actually teach kids something they want to know. They should be adaptable and fun, you know? And give the kids options. So if a group of kids wants to learn about, like, pirates, you should be able to take that and teach them history, and cartography, and astronomy-hell even geography and geology, you could talk about what places had pirates, how the little islands a lot of pirates favored formed." Brent got more and more animated as he talked, his moving hands emphasizing his words, "So many people think you can't teach kids stuff like that, but you can, even the really little ones can pick up the basics. You just have to explain it in a way they'll understand, use kid language, words and examples they're familiar with, and I'm pretty good at that, I think. You'd be surprised at how much you learn just teaching kids stuff. Loads of stuff I didn't get in school I understand now."

Gavriil reached out and ruffled Brent's blond mop of hair, his nephew's enthusiasm infectious, "Where were you when I was in school?" He continued sincerely, "I think you would be amazing at something like that. You've always had a skill with breaking things down so they're understandable, putting them in laymen's terms, so to speak. Although I also think you would be a fantastic teacher. I wouldn't put that entirely out of the running if I were you."

Brent shrugged, "Teacher's don't really get to teach kids these days so much as have them memorize test answers."

"Hmm. Maybe you could change that." Gavriil turned his head suddenly-he thought he'd heard a faint shout coming from over to the left, but it had been so quick…"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," said Brent nodding, "C'mon." He trotted off in the direction of the sound without another word, Gavriil quickly following.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Well that was a waste of time," Brent muttered scowling, hanging up the cell-phone, "Rick's over past the tree bridge, we might as well keep going this way-in about half a mile there's a spot where you can get across and climb up the bank okay, there's no way I'm scrambling over that thing. He's still in a mood-didn't even laugh when I told him we tracked a noise and found people skinny-dipping."

"I found it more horrifying then humorous myself," Gavriil said dryly, before frowning, "What exactly is a tree bridge, and why don't I like the sound of it?"

"Umm…" said Brent, having realized he'd just outed something all the kids had agreed needed to remain secret, "Well...it's this tree…that's like a bridge…"

"Brent?" Gavriil questioned raising an eyebrow at his nephew, whose awkward shifting more than gave away that this was not something he wanted to share. "Spill. Now."

Like always, Brent crumbled under the pressure of a secret partially revealed, "Uh, well it's this big oak tree, over by the last loop of the creek, you know where the really high bank is?" Gavriil seemed to recall there being a forty foot cliff, stretching for most of a mile on either side, on the other side of the creek, not just a "high bank" and felt his blood pressure begin to rise. "The top half of it fell over, and the way it landed, it makes like a bridge over to the other side." Brent took a step back at the look on his uncle's face, "I don't use it! Too clumsy, I swear."

Gavriil took a deep breath, pinching his nose as he let it out, "Who has been?"

"Um…." Brent gave his uncle a pleading look, "That's not fair; you can't ask me to be a nark."

Gavriil took another deep breath, letting it out slowly as he pulled his hand from his face, "It's Rick and Cammy isn't it?" Brent didn't say anything, just looked at the ground, "Two of my children have been regularly climbing up a dying, rotting tree, and then scrambling across the broken top of it, over a drop of forty feet with only a shallow creek below. Is that what I'm learning here?"

Brent shoved his hands in his pockets, "I wouldn't say regularly…"

Gavriil just stood there for a moment, "What direction was your brother headed in again?"

Brent pointed, "He's over that way to the east, but if we go in a straight line you're blocked, we gotta go a little out of our way, head that way for a bit," He pointed again, and Gavriil nodded once before marching straight off in that direction. Brent stared after him for a minute, speaking to himself, "…wow. He is pissed." As he set off after his uncle he sent a quick text message to Rick. *_Yo Dude, Uncle Gav knows about the tree bridge. Not happy.*_

*.*.*.*.*.

Rick groaned as he read the text message on his screen. Well that was great. Just frickin' great. Well as far as he was concerned, that tree was perfectly safe-he'd climbed both taller and more rickety tree's plenty of times-he'd known from the first day he clambered up it that no one else would agree with him. Even Lily had freaked out the first time he'd climbed across, back when they'd been around thirteen, though she was used to it by now.

That was the whole reason they didn't mention it. Brent never could keep his mouth shut.

He quickly texted back *_you're a nark, but it's okay* _grinning as he imagined his brothers reaction to it. Then as an afterthought he texted *_how mad 1-10+*, _before shoving his phone in his pocket and crawling back down the sheer slope he'd scaled to get a better viewpoint in the waning light. It wasn't _that_ steep-but if Uncle Gav was already upset it was best not to give him any more ammunition.

As he neared the bottom-only about four or five feet off the ground, so close he could have jumped and been fine-a bit of the hillside crumbled and he lost his footing, sliding so that his feet tangled together and he couldn't get any leverage to stop himself. He reached out to try and grab a tree root for a hand hold but missed, his momentum now carrying him backwards away from the slope, where he landed on his right side with a jarring thump.

Well fuck. Rick groaned quietly as he took stock of himself-he wasn't badly hurt, not really, but his hands were a bit scratched up from scrambling for purchase, and he'd hit his hip on a fairly large rock- that would be a nasty bruise come morning, but nothing to write home about. His left ankle is where the problem was; it didn't hurt exactly, but he hadn't moved it yet, and as the dull throb was starting to get worse, he was a bit worried to. He took a deep breath and wiggled his toes-it hurt, but nothing major really, which he had expected. Now it was time for the real test.

Rick forced himself to roll over and sit-up, groaning as he accidently put pressure on his left foot, and sent pain ricocheting up his leg. He just set there for a minute, making himself breath through the pain. Finally he opened his eyes, and looked down at his foot. He was kind of scared to pull back his pants so he could actually look it. Rick rotated his ankle, cursing and gasping as he did so. That HAD hurt. Not broken, but badly twisted, and quite possibly sprained. He reached down now, peeling back his sock and gently prodding-it was already a bit swollen, and quite red. Definitely sprained.

He considered what to do for a moment, before his eyes lit upon the small trickle of water carving its way down the hillside back in the direction he'd come from. There had been a fairly heavy rain a few days ago, so the pool at the bottom should be reasonable deep, and hopefully cold. Using the treacherous hillside he hoisted himself up and set off in that direction, doing his best to keep his weight off his increasingly throbbing ankle.

After what was only about a minute, but felt much longer, Rick limped up to the small pool, and let himself slide down the wall, sighing gratefully to be off his feet. It took him a bit longer than he expected to unlace his shoe and pull it off, and removing his sock was pure torture, but it was all worth it when he stuck his foot in the water, holding it so the small trickle of water ran down over the top. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a few minutes-which of course was when his uncle and brother came walking up.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent turned his head as movement caught his eye, his mouth crinkling in concern as he recognized his brother slumped against the side of the cliff they'd been working their way around for five minutes now. He reached out to catch his uncle's sleeve as he walked by, "Uncle Gav, look." His uncle turned quickly in the direction he was looking, hearing the worry in his voice.

"What is it? Do you see-" He broke off abruptly as he caught sight of Rick slumped over half on the ground, and set off at a ground eating pace, calling to him, "Rick? Ricky? Are you alright?"

Rick roused himself, looking up at his uncle, and mumbling a curse under his breath, "Uh, I'm fine!" He called back, "Just banged up my ankle a bit, that's all." He went to try and stand on one foot, using the cliff to balance, but Gavriil who had relaxed a bit when Rick answered him, but was still getting close far sooner than was good for Rick's piece of mind, gave him a look and pointed to the ground and he sunk back down where he had been.

"What happened?" Gavriil knelt next to him, "Turn so I can look at it."

"It's not broken, I already checked." Rick said hastily, reluctant shifting and then pulling his now freezing foot out of the water, hissing as he lifted it in the air. Gavriil winced with sympathy when he saw it-not _that_ swollen, probably due to Rick's quick thinking with the water-but red and purple, and bruising rapidly.

"Here, let me help." Gav gently cupped the injured appendage in his hands, Rick relaxing and letting him take the weight as he gently lowered it to his lap. Brent, who had been hovering uncertainly behind them, not sure what to do and not wanting to get in the way, let out a low whistle when he got a good look at it.

"Wow dude, that blows. Sorry."

Rather than thanking his brother for his sympathy Rick glared at him, snapping, "It's not that bad."

Gavriil looked at his nephew incredulously, "You're kidding right? You're entire ankle is turning into a giant, swollen, bruise and I can tell this isn't more than half an hour old, it's badly sprained at least." He looked around for a moment, as though considering his options. He turned back to Rick and said in a serious tone, "What's the quickest way out of the woods to a road a car could drive too. One that doesn't involve climbing giant trees or crawling over high precipices-I mean it Rick," he finished as Rick screwed his face up in protest. "I know you know, so tell me."

Rick huffed, but complied, "If we head that way," He pointed to the woods behind them, but to the west of the way they'd come, "we can be to the corner of 21st and Wagonway in about 20 minutes-30 with my ankle. And we have to cross the creek once, but its shallow there, only about half a foot to a foot. It's the fastest way I know other than heading back to the house, and that will take twice as long."

"Thank you." Gavriil said, patting his shoulder and pulling out his cell-phone from his coat pocket, "I'm going to call Lynn to come meet us." Before he could dial, Rick reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"What about Cammy?" Rick's voice was worried, "I haven't seen any sign of her at all-and she's good at covering her tracks, but she's not that good."

"Brent try calling and texting her again," Gavriil ordered, as he gently removed Rick's hand from his wrist, "We'll find your sister-and she'll be just fine in the meantime. You taught Cammy plenty to keep her safe out here Rick."

"I also taught her to do things like climb stupid cliffs, and look where that got me?" Rick snapped, more worried than anything, as he gestured at his ankle.

"And tree bridges?" Gavriil said sternly, before shaking his head, "A cliff Rick? Didn't I just talk to you about putting yourself in unnecessary danger yesterday?"

Rick shifted a bit where he sat, "Did I say cliff? It was more like a hillside…" He trailed off and decided it would be wiser to be silent at the look on his uncle's face.

Gavriil choose to ignore that for the moment, pressing send and putting the phone to his ear instead.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy snuggled deeper into the blanket in her small hideaway. No one would find her here, the small cave, down low in a rocky, overgrown hillside, concealed by large tree roots, was perfect. She was only just able to fit through herself.

The thing no one knew about Cammy, not even Billy, was that she always had a way out, a safe place to disappear to. For as long as she could remember, it was like a compulsion she had. From her first stash of animal crackers and fuzzy pillows she'd hidden in the crawl space beneath her closet, things had felt _right_ to Cammy when she had a hideaway.

She knew it was silly but she couldn't help it-she had nooks and crannies that were _hers_ all over town. Cammy almost never used them-as long as she _had _them she didn't _need _to use them. At least she'd become more practical over the years-no more cookies and pillows shaped like Hello Kitty. Instead she had blankets sealed in waterproof plastic bags, and jugs of water. This, one of her better stashes due to her easy access to it, had a metal "emergency box" with a few granola bars and some beef jerky, along with a basic first aid kit.

She'd never had to use this one before. If something bad happened when she was close to home, close to her Momma Lynn, she ran _there._ Cammy had never run from her family before. She didn't like the way it made her feel.

She wouldn't have minded having her Hello Kitty pillow right now.

Her phone kept going off in her pocket-she should probably turn it off, but it was kind of nice to hear it buzz and beep in the silence-reminding her that they were all worrying about her, probably out looking for her. She knew she should just answer it. Even if she didn't tell them where she was, she could let them know she was safe.

Cammy bit her lip, fighting with herself-she could just curl up and try to sleep here, that was what this spot was intended for after all, and it was already getting very dark. But could she leave them to worry about her all night?

How much trouble would she be in if she did that?

How much trouble was she already in? Not nearly as much as she would be if she waited till morning, that was for sure. She pulled her phone out of her pocket staring blankly at the screen, at the bubble telling her the ridiculous number of calls and texts she had missed superimposed over her background picture.

The worst part was she was still so angry and hurt-most of her thought she had a right to be, didn't any of them know her at all? Didn't they know she had more respect than that? They _should_have.

It was humiliating to think that all of them sat around the table, Momma Lynn and Uncle Gav, Mister Theo, thinking Brent and her were upstairs _fucking_.

She'd been taught that they didn't pass judgment on each other in their family, but apparently that was bullshit.

God.

Was she being unfair?

Cammy looked at the background picture on her screen again, unconsciously chewing on her lower lip. That had been a good day last summer. They'd all been feeling goofy and tired after a day on the beach, but before they'd headed back to their campsite Momma Lynn had flagged down a random lady to take their picture. Everyone's hair was wild, and they were all laughing, Momma jokingly swatting at them for making faces. The woman had snapped a couple, amused at their antics, and this one was Cammy's favorite-Mister Theo was giving her bunny ears, something she hadn't realized till they'd looked at them later, even though she had her arms wrapped around his middle, both of them grinning big as anything, Lexi up on Brent's back, and Rick and Lily jokingly "fighting" over who got to stand next to Billy, who was rolling his eyes, but couldn't wipe the happy, content look off his face. Uncle Gav had suddenly tickled Momma Lynn from where his hand had been around her waist, and her face was open, in a bright, happy, but most of all, surprised, laugh. It was a pretty awesome picture.

The phone rang again, startling Cammy so that she nearly dropped it, Momma Lynn's picture flashing on the screen. She stared at it for a moment, guilt whirling in her stomach. Momma Lynn would be so worried, and probably feeling guilty herself, knowing that Cammy had run off upset, and why. She stared at it for a minute longer, not entirely sure why she hadn't answered, but not sure what she would have said if she had.

She wanted to go home, but wasn't prepared to admit she'd been wrong to run off in the first place, and was fairly certain that if anyone yelled at her about it, she would wind up yelling back.

As various imaginary confrontations ran through her head, Cammy felt herself getting worked up again, and tried to make herself think things through rationally.

Cammy knew that her family had assumed that Brent and her were at least close to being sexually active-they'd been together for over a year now, and even her own mother had woken up long enough to suggest she make a doctor's appointment and see about birth control.

She'd already been on it for her period pain, and had been since she was fifteen, but it was the thought that counted.

Either way, you'd think her sisters would at least have known that if she and Brent were having sex she would have already told them about it. Cammy certainly had higher standards than having her first time on Brent's stripped mattress in an empty room, with only a few minutes before dinner to get things done in.

Okay, so it's not like she was a complete innocent, nor was she pretending to be-they'd done just about everything else you _could_ do, and she'd thoroughly enjoyed it all, and was _very_ certain Brent had as well. Just not actual sex. And, as cheesy as it sounded, well…she wanted it to be special.

A part of her that she knew was irrational felt like that perfect image she'd had in her head of her first time had been irrevocably damaged, ruined before it every happened.

Cammy wiped angrily at the tears running down her face, wishing more than anything that none of this had happened. That Brent and her hadn't gotten distracted and been late coming down for dinner, that she hadn't bugged Lexi and Lily 'til they told her what was going on. That she hadn't run off and disappeared down a hole like the white rabbit…

Any other reaction would have been better-even if she'd marched in and begun shouting at everyone for their audacity it would have gone over better in the long run. Actually, pretty much anyway you looked at it, she'd screwed herself on this one.

Her family had messed up-and her feelings were still hurt, and she wasn't entirely sure that was going to change anytime soon-but the truth was, she had messed up worse with this stunt.

And she wanted to go home. She wanted her Uncle and her Momma even if they were mad at her, and she was mad at them.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to climb out of her small sanctuary, or even to answer the phone, which was ringing again, this time Billy's picture flashing on the screen. Cammy knew dragging this out would make everything worse…yet part of her felt like if she just stayed here in her quiet little hole, things would be just fine…she knew it wasn't true…yet she felt like if she just stayed here long enough, things would go back to the way they should be all on their own…

Or maybe she was just a coward.

Yeah. She was pretty sure that was it.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

A/N: So it has been a long time since I updated, over a month. Well part of that time has been spent re-writing this story, and working on new chapters as well as side stories (Expect a one-shot called "the anti-wall-mart warriors" that details the kids antics when the town's wal-mart is built, about seven years prior to our current story, and they feel it threatens Mister Theo's store in about two months-it's already nine pages long) a lot of it has been spent dealing with my crazy F'ing family.

My brother moved back in with his wife, only for them to announce they're losing their house, my cousin moved up from out of state, and wants to spend all his time with me because we're both stoners and like music, only that is the only thing we have in common. And he's really freaking annoying, only nice as hell, so you can't say anything about it. Also, my work, where I've been for about five years now, and so is pretty much like family as well, had a change a management about a year ago and things have been getting steadily worse, and worse. I may have to choose between my job and my morals, and since this is also a job that is fullfilling and rewarding, and in line with the career I'm working towards...it has been difficult.

But all of that pales with the fact that I had to put my dog, my "old bones puppy" as my niece called him, to sleep. My Pridey boy. I've had him since I was ten years old, and he'd actually lived quite a bit longer than we expected and had a nice peaceful old age, but it was still very hard. I keep expecting to see him running up to me with his weird little hop walk he developed in the last few years, wanting to play.

So that's what happened and is why there have been no updates...since I already have about half of chapter thirteen done, and have two scenes of chapter fourteen written, the delays between chapters should be more like a week or so again.

Thanks for your patience.


	13. Lost Lamb

"Okay, I'll be there waiting for you when you get there," Lynn hung up the phone, and looked up at the expectant faces in front of her, "They haven't found Cammy yet," She waited a moment for the disappointed noises to quiet-it had been over an hour now they'd been looking, and worries were starting to grow-and continued on, "Rick fell and sprained his ankle pretty badly, I'm going to get my kit ready and meet them over off of 21st and Wagon Way, apparently there is an exit out of the forest there."

"I'll ride out with you," Theo stated, already getting out of his chair, "If Rick's down, they'll need a replacement."

Lynn looked at her father hesitantly, not knowing quite how to express her doubts over this plan. Theo was quite good at reading his daughter, however, and said exasperatedly, "I'm old, not helpless Lynn. I go on a five mile hike twice a week, and according to my doctor my body is more like a 70 year old, than an 83 year old. A 70 year old in good health at that. Quit fussing so much."

"Alright, alright," said Lynn, still not agreeing, but knowing arguing would be more than pointless, "I'm just going to grab my kit and some ice packs, and we'll head out."

Theo nodded, "I'll grab my jacket and a few flashlights-I think they forgot them earlier; and be waiting for you by the car."

Billy, who had been endlessly texting his sister, who was not answering, and according to his messenger, not reading the texts, spoke up then, "I want to go too, it'll be easier to find her with more people." Lynn hesitated to respond again-technically Billy was fine, even if he was weak and recovering, but she still didn't want to let him go. Truthfully, she really didn't want to let him out of her sight, not at all, and not for as long as the search might take. Before she had made up her mind entirely, Theo spoke up and put an end to the discussion.

"No, we need you and the girls to stay here in case Cammy comes back. If you want to be helpful you could set up the camp beds in Brent and Lily's rooms." Billy scowled, but before he could protest Lynn had zipped out of the room and up the stairs, Lily following after presumably to ask about Rick, and Theo had grabbed his jacket off the coat hook and headed down the hall towards the kitchen, where there were extra flashlights in the junk drawer. He slumped back against the couch frowning, ignoring the sympathetic look from Lexi, and going back to staring at his phone screen. Even if she didn't answer, Cammy could still _read _the messages, dammit.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick smiled sheepishly as he limped the last few steps to the van, Uncle Gav on one side and Brent on the other, where his mother and grandfather were waiting. He waited patiently, nobody saying much as Momma Lynn slid open the door and Mister Theo stepped up to take his arm from Brent and help Uncle Gav get him up and into the back where he could stretch out. As they got him settled Momma Lynn climbed up next to him, setting a pillow down for him to rest his foot on, "How are you doing, sweet boy?" Lynn asked Rick as she set about examining his ankle.

"Been better." He admitted wincing a bit as she lightly pressed a spot on his ankle and asked if he could wiggle his toes for her. "I already did that," Rick complained, "It's not broken." Before Lynn could tell him that sometimes with a fracture, which she just thought he might have, you still had some movement, especially before it swelled, and either way he was going to put up with her ministrations, Gavriil spoke up with a mild frown.

"So now you're going to do it again," He said it more with an air of firm expectation than any censure, before turning to his sister, "Rick has taken up climbing cliffsides in his spare time. From what I've been told he's quite good at it, practically professional-you would think he would know doing so in the near dark with no one close to help if he fell wasn't the brightest thing to do."

"It was a _hillside_," Rick grumbled insistently, but otherwise subsided at the raised eyebrow Momma Lynn was directing at him, letting Lynn finish looking at his ankle and then gently layer icepacks around and on his ankle, trying not to put too much weight on it, as she announced his diagnosis.

"Well, it's not broken, but it was a near thing. The way this twisted when you fell, it looks like you came very close to tearing the muscle and ligaments in your ankle, as well as spraining the ball joint. As it is, they're twisted and stretched and if you're not careful you could make it much worse. You're going to be off your feet for a couple of days at least. We'll get you a crutch for getting around the house, but other than that I don't want you walking around." Lynn began packing up her kit again, "We'll wait till the swelling goes down a bit before we wrap it, alternate cold and heat a bit and see if that helps. I'll look at it again in the morning, if it gets any worse you're going in with me to work to get a second opinion. I still think it's possible you have a small fracture I can't see." She popped open a bottle of extra strength Tylenol and handed two to Rick before putting it back in her bag as well.

Rick swallowed the pills, chasing them down with a gulp of water from a small bottle his mother handed him, and proceeded to immediately question her verdict, "Are you sure it's that bad? It's just; I'm supposed to be at work in the morning. We have a big project we're starting." He did not mention that he also had something much more important planned for that night.

Lynn looked at him with sympathy, "Sorry Rick, I know you don't like sitting still, but you're going to be off your feet for at least a couple of days. Even if you wind up healing as fast as you usually do, this was a bad one. No work until at least Wednesday or Thursday-and I'm talking a day in the office, not scrambling around a building site."

Rick groaned, but nodded. He was already planning something that would get him in deep anyway, this was just one more thing to work around. Lynn studied him, sensing just a bit of defiance in his posture, and spoke again frowning. "I mean it Rick-if I have to call Liam myself, I will, make no mistake about that."

Rick looked patently horrified at this-he was young enough compared to Liam and Henry, that he often felt Liam at least treated him a bit like a child. The last thing he needed was his _mom _calling in sick for him. And the other workers, most of who were seasonal, and came and went based on what was needed, but not all, would be even worse-not all of them had been happy when Liam and his father, who still technically owned the company, had chosen a green kid with not much experience for the apprenticeship job. _Rick_ had been shocked when they'd told him it was his, and mostly didn't blame the others for their resentment-but that didn't mean he wanted to give them any extra ammunition. "I can handle that myself," He said, doing his best to sound casual, "I'll call him tonight when we get back."

"I thought you might." Lynn said matter of factly, as she closed up her kit.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent waved as the van pulled away, more out of reflex than anything else, his mind distracted as he thought about how dark it was, and how long it had been since Cammy took off. He hoped she wasn't cold-it was nearly summer, and the days had been plenty warm, but the nights were still a bit chilly. She wouldn't have had a coat with her.

Mostly Brent was hoping Cammy hadn't followed Rick's example, climbing something when there was no one around-maybe falling, when there was no one there to help.

He swallowed as this thought resonated around his head; face paling as he considered all the things that could have happened to her-and the fact that they still had _miles _of forest to search. She could be hurt. Cammy could be hurt, and wishing for them, for _him_, to find her, and it still might be _hours _before they did. Brent swallowed again, as the knot that had formed in his stomach earlier suddenly turned into a cannon ball. Suddenly a new possibility occurred to him, hitting him so strongly it stole his breath and nearly drove him to his knees. _What if they never found her? _

_What if they looked and looked and never did?_

Mister Theo, who seemed to have a six sense when it came to members of his family being upset, stepped to his side and reached a hand up to casually rest on the back of Brent's neck, squeezing lightly, but not saying anything for a long moment.

"We'll find her soon, son."

Brent took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but was unable to keep the question behind his tense lips, his voice quivering just slightly as he spoke, "What if we don't?"

Theo turned to look at Brent, still keeping his hand cupped softly against his neck, "We will Brent. It's only been about two hours, I'm sure she's just fine." The boy started to shake his head, but his grandfather just pulled him close, wrapping his arms around him in a bear hug, "We will find Cammy. I promise." Theo held Brent tightly, not letting him pull away, but his eyes were trained on Gavriil as he spoke, and his son met his eyes, swallowed and nodded. He was grateful for the words, and even as his head knew that realistically it was not the sort of promise one could always keep, his subconscious was a different matter altogether; frankly the amount of reassurance he felt at the simple statement was ridiculous. "I promise."

His father was the sort of man who always kept his promises.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy groaned suddenly, surprising Lexi who had been staring at the wall, deep in thought. She looked over to him in time to see him toss his phone down on the couch beside himself, leaning forward to groan into his hands. "This sucks. This sucks so damn bad, and I can't even do anything to change it."

Lexi agreed wholeheartedly, but had a vague idea that hearing this would not help Billy much, and so she tried to be encouraging instead. "Things suck right now, sure, but they'll wind up okay. They always do, in the end." By the end of her small speech Alexis found herself a bit encouraged by it-she'd always been a sap for feel good advice, and apparently that included her own. Billy just seemed amused.

Billy laughed, shaking his head as he looked up at Lexi, always having been a bit mystified at the half-full way she looked at life, even though in reality her life hadn't been much easier than his. Their childhoods might have been difficult for very different reasons, but he knew enough to know it hadn't been easy. And yet Lexi didn't seem to be plagued by the doubts that seemed to follow Billy, popping up whenever they wanted. "Thanks Lexi. When's the end by the way?"

Lexi laughed, and chucked a pillow at him, "You know what I mean dork!"

Billy caught the pillow, grinning at Lexi and stashed it behind his head, leaning back with a sigh. Yeah, yeah, he did.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Rick limped into the small bathroom, the stupid crutch he did _not_ need balanced under his arm, acting like he was complying with his mother's orders to call in sick, just in private. He smiled to himself-he was in a way, just planning to tell the man a slightly different story than the reality. One that had less chance of Henry hearing and refusing to continue their plan for tomorrow night. As long as he downplayed his injury just a bit, the story might not even get back to the other man. Rick dialed his boss's number, as he went over the story he'd been forming in his head well pretending to listen to his Momma Lynn's lecture on what he shouldn't do well his ankle was healing.

He waited impatiently as the phone rang a few times, before Liam finally answered, from the inside of a bar from the sound of it, "Yep."

"Hey Liam, its Rick."

"Figured that when your name popped up on my screen. What's up?"

"Um, well…"

Rick hesitated for a moment, suddenly not sure how to phrase his lie, and Liam spoke up again, concern now evident in his gruff voice, "Tell me you didn't go through with your stupid plan." Rick opened his mouth to answer and found himself frozen, the words he'd planned to say stuck in his throat, as the stupidity of what he was about to do caught up with him. Was he seriously considering going after Mayfeather well he was using a crutch? There was the sound of quiet cussing and a stool being pushed back as Liam stood up through the phone, "You alright? I need to head somewhere?"

"No, no, I'm at Lynn's house, safe and sound. It's just…" He hesitated again, listening to the sounds of Liam rearranging himself back on his barstool, finding it hard to lie, and considering that maybe it wasn't the best idea in the first place. There was no reason he couldn't ask Henry if they could wait a few days-after all if he showed up on a crutch he was sure the other man would balk no matter what. "I, I fell and sprained my ankle pretty badly earlier, and I'm sorry 'cause I know we have that big job this week, but Momma Lynn says I need to take it easy for a few days."

"Well alright, I'm not likely to argue with any nurse, let alone your Momma. She says you need to take it easy for a few days, you take it easy for a few days. I'll see if I can get Marcus or Richie to cover for you, don't worry about it." There was a pause, as though something had occurred to Liam, and he spoke up again, with a tinge of suspicion coloring his tone. "How'd you hurt yourself? Anything to do with Mayfeather?"

"No!" Rick spoke hastily, making Liam draw his brows down as he took a sip of his beer, waiting for him to finish, "It was family drama. My little sister got upset and decided to do a runner into the forest. I couldn't see any sign of her, so I climbed up where I could get a better view, and wound up slipping and falling on my ass. I'm fine except for my ankle though, should be able to come back in in just a couple days."

"Mmm. You wait for your Momma to give you the all clear, understood?"

Liam waited a beat for Rick to mutter a quiet and reluctant, "Yes Boss.", before continuing.

"Which sister? Did you find her alright?"

Rick sighed, worry heavy in his voice, "Cammy. No, there's no sign of her yet. My uncle, granddad and Brent are still looking for her, but they made me come back. And I'm the one who taught Cammy about those woods-I'm worried they won't find her until she wants to be found. And that girl can be stubborn."

"A lot like her brother then. If your folks decide they need help looking give me a call. I'm sure I can round up some people." Liam's voice was calm, his words practical and simple, and the normalcy of it let Rick take a deep breath, a small bit of his tension fading away. More than likely she would decide to come home on her own. If she didn't they would find her-and if they needed to they had others they could turn to for help.

"Thanks Liam. I appreciate it."

"Of course Rick, don't worry about."

"Right. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." After they disconnected Liam stared into his beer for a minute, thinking. That "No" about Mayfeather had been awfully insistent. Suspiciously insistent.

Well, at least Henry was staying at his parent's house for a few days, having been roped into taking Susie to some god-awful concert at the last minute. He wouldn't have to worry about him getting involved.

His eyes narrowed a bit as he took another pull off his beer. Or maybe he did.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy rubbed her eyes as she turned in her blanket-although she actually hadn't intended too, sleep had claimed her briefly, her tears and earlier flight through the forest ringing exhaustion from her much sooner than normal. She stiffened as she realized both where she was, and that she had not woken on her own. There was _something _walking by her small cave.

Cammy froze mid-stretch as her thoughts caught up to her actions. It was probably just a small animal, a rabbit, or maybe a raccoon, nothing to be afraid of. A particularly loud noise came from above and her stomach sank. Okay, maybe it was a larger animal than she had thought at first…it was still nothing to be frightened of, she was sure.

As Cammy reassured herself she crept closer to the other side of her small pocket, where there were gaps in the tree roots big enough to see through. Her heart caught in her throat as she saw a pair of worn work boots walk so close to where she was she could have thrown a stone and pegged them, even in the dark-so not a harmless animal. She suddenly relaxed as she realized just _whose _work boots they were, before her mind reminded her exactly how unhappy her Uncle Gav would be when he found her.

Well, okay. He'd probably be happy. For like a minute. Before he killed her.

Cammy sank back down into her cave, holding her breath and trying to be as quiet as possible. She so should have just gone home when she had the chance…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Theo frowned as movement caught his eye from a nearby hill. They'd been walking, circling so as not to miss anything for well over an hour now, and despite what he had said to Lynn, it was proving to be a bit much for the old man, and he'd stopped to lean against a tree for a minute. As he turned to look he saw a flash of red-blonde hair, and smiled grimly to himself. So that's where she'd got herself off to. He turned and called to the others, who hadn't noticed when he stopped and had got a bit ahead of him, "Boys, I'm getting a little tired. I'm going to rest for a minute, and then I'll catch up with you."

Gavriil turned around, not altogether liking the idea of them separating, and called back to him, "Are you sure you don't want us to wait with you?" Brent who had been growing more and more worried as the hours dragged on, shifted back and forth on his feet, torn. He didn't like the idea of a delay in their search, even by a few minutes, any more than he liked the idea of leaving Mister Theo.

"No, no, you go on and I'll catch up in just a minute." He waited for them to set off again, and turned to walk towards the hillside and the tree he'd seen Cammy's hair behind. Or possibly under judging from the way those roots were growing right into the rocky hillside…clever girl had found herself a tidy little bolthole it looked like. Theo settled himself against the side of the tree, sliding down so he rested on top of a large root that curved out of the ground at the perfect angle to sit on, pretending for the moment he didn't hear the sharp intake of air beneath him. After a long minute he spoke, "Nice little hiding spot you've got here."

There was nothing for a few seconds, and then "How'd you see me?" came echoing out from below him, and Theo turned so he could look down into the small cavern the cliff and tree roots made, able to just make out Cammy's dirty, tear-stained face between the gap in a pair of roots.

"I have very good night vision, always have. Why don't you come on out of there, baby girl? Please?" Theo smiled gently at her, not letting himself think about the blanket wrapped around her that he was sure she hadn't had when she left the house. A bolthole indeed.

Cammy shook her head drawing back a little, "Are you mad at me?" Theo's face softened even further at the question.

"Honey we've been looking for you for over three hours now, and I'm not well pleased with all the worry you've put us through. But," here Theo shifted on his root, sighing, "I understand why you did it and I'm not mad. Right now I'm just happy to see that you're okay." He kept his eyes glued to Cammy's face, and watched as she bit her lip, nodding reluctantly, as though she found truth in his words but rather wished she hadn't. He supposed it was easier to stay mad at someone when they were mad at you.

"You have to come out sometime, Cammy." The fact that Theo wasn't moving an inch until she did went without saying. Theo blinked in surprise as she disappeared from his view, there was a split second where worry that she would run again overwhelmed him-and then she was standing quietly in front of him, a mixture of little girl shame and wanting to make up, and more than a little bit of defiance and hurt feelings.

"Hey." She stood there as though unsure of her reception, looking like one wrong move would send her skittering off again through the forest.

"Hey yourself." Theo stood and opened his arms with quiet expectation and she didn't disappoint, taking a hesitant step, and then flinging herself forward into his arms with a quiet sob. Theo just held her and let her cry, not saying a word when she fisted her hands into the back of his shirt and pinched the hell out of him, and he held her even tighter when she wiped her teary face on his shoulder.

"I'm not a whore." The accusation in her voice-that she thought _he _thought that-hit Theo like a brick between the eyes, and as he'd found happening more and more often in his old age, tears sprang easily to his eyes.

"No," He agreed firmly, almost vehemently, "No, you certainly are not, and no one else thinks that either. You are my granddaughter, and a very wonderful young woman. Nobody thinks that baby, I promise."

"Yeah? What would you have said if me and Brent had been upstairs _fucking_?" Cammy spat it out bitterly, "Like you all thought."

Theo pulled back and looked sternly down his nose at her, not impressed with her trying to goad a reaction out of him, "I would have thought you and Brent had chosen a very inappropriate time and place to express a very natural and healthy love. That's all." This seemed to take the wind out of Cammy's sails, and she stared back at him almost in confusion. "I'm sorry your feelings were hurt, but it was all just a big misunderstanding."

Cammy frowned at that, not liking something that had been so hurtful to her being minimized to a misunderstanding, but not sure exactly how to say that-and honestly she was tired and wishing this were all already over, and she was at home, asleep. She looked over as Mister Theo pulled his phone out of his pocket, panic suddenly welling inside of her. "What, what are you doing Mister Theo?"

"I'm calling your uncle, to tell him I found you safe and to turn around," He glanced up at Cammy, "and judging from the look on your face you already figured that out." Theo pressed send and moved the phone to his ear, "Don't worry so much-he'll be upset, and yes a bit angry, but mostly relieved, just like me." Cammy was not so sure about this, and bit her lip, rocking back on her feet a bit. Gavriil answered quickly, and the second Cammy heard his voice her resolve to stick it out disappeared and she turned to run, pivoting where she stood. Theo, who was far quicker than most people gave him credit for, let out a muffled curse and darted after her, dropping his cell-phone to the ground in the process.

He snagged her arm within her first two steps-a good thing or he might not have caught her at all-and all the frustration and worry of the last few hours bubbled over, and before either of them had much time to think about it he had her sideways in front of him, and let his hand fly-once-twice-three times, right across the seat of her levis. Cammy who had been swatted once by her Momma Lynn when she was about nine and had run across the road without looking and nearly gotten flattened, but otherwise never been spanked in her life, gaped at her grandfather in shock and shoved her free hand behind her to cover her rear. "You do not run from me," Theo pointed his finger in her face, "not ever, and certainly not after a day like today."

Without another word he propelled her back over to where they'd been standing and sat her down on the root he'd rested on earlier. Only after he got a quiet, "Yes sir." to his terse command for her to stay put did he bend down to pick up his fallen cell-phone. It had all happened so fast Gavriil was still on the line, now calling into the phone for his father to answer him and tell him he was alright.

"Gavriil-" The other man began practically babbling into the phone in his haste to get out all his questions, and Theo pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment in mild exasperation. "Gavriil," He tried again, "Son, calm down and listen to me." He waited for silence and then began talking, keeping one eye on a fidgeting Cammy the whole time, "I'm fine son, not hurt at all I promise. I found Cammy, back by where I was resting, she's just fine."

There was a pause where he listened to Gavriil, and then he nodded at whatever he had said, "We talked, and now she's sitting and waiting nicely next to me-we had a brief moment where she panicked when I first called you, that's when I dropped the phone, but we had a second discussion involving the flat of my hand and the seat of her jeans, and I think she'll be staying put for now." Cammy blushed red as a sunset, and Theo hid a smile, before returning his attention to Gavriil. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. She's _fine _Gavriil; I wouldn't have wasted time with small talk if she wasn't. Yes, I promise. See you in a minute." He hung up the phone and spoke to his granddaughter, "Your uncle and Brent are already on their way back, honey. Should be just another few minutes." Theo looked at the still blushing girl, who now had guilt written across her face.

"He's really worried, isn't he?" Theo couldn't keep the look of incredulity off of his face at these words, though he tried, and Cammy ducked her head, staring at her hands in her lap, playing with her fingers nervously.

"Of course he is. We were all worried, knowing you'd run off into the forest, upset. It's much easier to get hurt when you're upset like that, when you're not thinking clearly, not to mention it's been dark for quite a while now. Everyone has been worried." Cammy was biting her lip now, looking like she wasn't far from tears again and Theo sighed, "Scoot over, baby girl, so I can sit next to you." Cammy obliging slid over towards the tree, and Mister Theo gently settled himself next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close so her head was pillowed against the top of his chest. He kissed the crown of her head, saying quietly, "Things are alright now. Just wait and see."

They both looked up as they heard footsteps in the pine needles and other brush on the ground to see dark shapes that must have been Gavriil and Brent off in the distance, though it was too dark to see any distinguishing features so far off. As they got closer Cammy gulped, squirming so that she was pressed closer to Theo's side, "He's going to be really mad once he realizes he doesn't have to be worried, isn't he?" It was not really a question, her voice already quietly resigned, but Theo answered her anyway.

"Well, he's probably going to yell a bit, honey, but it'll be more because you scared him than anything else." He patted her arm where his was wrapped around her, "Just say you're very sorry for running off, and things should be just fine." Cammy nodded and straightened a bit, still pressed quite close to Theo.

As he got closer Gavriil picked up speed until at the end he half-ran across the clearing to get to them, falling with a thump that must have been painful to his knees in front of Cammy. Despite his father's previous assurances the first words out of his mouth were, "Are you alright?" his hands reaching out to grasp hers where they rested in her lap, Brent hurrying up behind him and then stopping awkwardly as though he didn't quite know what to do with himself.

Cammy moved forward to be closer to her uncle, right as he went to pull her into his arms, and she went crashing into his lap with some force, making them both start with surprise for a moment, a sort of half-choked laugh leaving Cammy before she moved to bury her face in her uncles neck, for all she had thought it, still not all cried out. "I'm fi-ne," she managed to mumble out through her tears, so quietly only Gavriil heard her.

"Of course you are, baby." Gavriil kissed his nieces forehead, rocking just a bit "Everything is alright now, Golubushka. We're going to go home, we'll let your Momma feed you and scold you a bit, and tuck you up into bed, alright?" That sounded just fine to Cammy, and she nodded with her head still tucked into Gavriil's neck, and the older man shifted her in his arms, and slowly stood up, ignoring the way his knees creaked. He looked to Brent, "Think you can lead us out of the forest the quickest?"

Brent nodded, eyes trained on Cammy, wishing he could talk to her, but understanding she needed their uncle right then, "Yeah, Uncle Gav. Actually with the way we were circling back on ourselves to cover gaps, we aren't that far away from the house." He tore his eyes away from Cammy to look around the clearing, and make certain he was right about where they were, nodding to himself as he recognized bits and pieces of it, "Yeah, we're only about twenty minutes away from home, course it will probably take us longer in the dark."

Gavriil closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a new surge of emotion well up in him as that fact that Cammy had only been twenty minutes away from home the entire time penetrated his mind. "Uncle Gav?" questioned Brent after a moment, hesitantly, not sure what he was supposed to do next. Gav forced himself out of his thoughts, and nodded for Brent to start leading the way, waiting for his father to stand up before he followed after, Cammy still tucked neatly into his arms. It was a good thing, he reflected absently as the day caught up with him, that he was so tall; otherwise he would no longer be able to do this.

"Uncle Gav?" This time it was Cammy, speaking quietly, her head still buried in the side of his neck. He made a questioning sound, not really up for a long conversation at the moment, but not about to deny Cammy either. "Are you mad?" It was only the fact that his child was clearly both upset and half asleep that kept Gavriil from just about shaking her right there, or possibly bursting out into laughter. Was he mad? Was he mad?

Well, no actually, he realized at this moment he was not particularly mad. He was both too relieved and too exhausted to be mad, but that didn't change the fact that he was still very displeased with her actions. Gavriil considered his words carefully, wanting to have them right before he spoke, "I'm more disappointed than mad right now Cammy. Instead of dealing with something that was bothering you, you chose to run away from your problems, literally. And in doing so you scared me, and everyone else, very badly. I know you weren't the only one at fault here, far from it, but that doesn't make your part in this okay." Cammy nodded into his neck again, and he could feel the hot tears against it, "But we'll deal with it, and you'll be forgiven just like always. For now just let me get you home to your Momma Lynn." One of Cammy's hands fisted into his collar, and she nodded again.

"That reminds me," spoke up Theo, pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket once more, "We should probably call Lynn and update her."

"Oh, I already did," Brent called back over his shoulder, and Gavriil felt a new surge of appreciation for Brent, "When we were walking back to you guys I called her so she wouldn't worry. She's really happy we found Cammy, and she said to tell you she loved you, by the way, Cammy. Everybody's fine, she says Rick's ankle is feeling better, the icepacks, heating pad, and Tylenol helped, and she has it all wrapped up now. She's making soup."

Cammy lifted her head from Gavriil's shoulder, "What's wrong with Rick's ankle?"

Brent hesitated, not sure it was a good idea to tell her that Rick had hurt himself searching for her, but not wanting to not answer, or worse lie to her. Not that she would probably believe him considering how bad a liar he was, but that wasn't really the point…luckily Gavriil decided to speak up then, letting Brent off the hook. "Your brother decided to climb up the side of a cliff well it was getting dark, all by himself, and managed to fall and sprain his ankle on the way down. Nothing for you to worry about, your Momma Lynn has him all fixed up and taken care of."

"It wouldn't have happened if Rick hadn't been looking for me." Cammy said morosely, tucking her head back into Gavriil's neck like a turtle.

"It wouldn't have happened if Rick hadn't been doing something dangerous." Gavriil countered smoothly, "He made that choice himself. Although," he continued when Cammy made a disagreeing noise to that, "I plan to talk to _both _of you about a certain tree bridge."

Cammy wisely chose to stay quiet for the rest of the way home.

*.*.*.*.*.*

As they walked up the narrow sidewalk that snaked around the cul-de-sac the front door opened and the whole family piled out onto the front walkway and then the lawn, coming out to meet them as quickly as they could. Even Rick was outside, though he stayed by the front door, balancing on his crutch.

Without any hesitation Lynn walked right up to her brother, and opening her arms, demanded, "Give me my baby," the nervous tension still clear in her face.

Gavriil chuckled softly, gently jostling the now sleeping Cammy a bit to wake her, "Yes'm." He moved to put the yawning girl on her feet, holding her until she found her balance, and then shuffling her over to Lynn's arms, who enclosed them around her youngest instantly, just squeezing the girl close to her, never mind that Cammy had about four inches on her now.

"Don't you ever, ever, scare me like that again, you hear?" She pulled back for just a moment to talk to Cammy, moving one hand to grasp the girl's chin and make her look her in the eye, "You hear?" Cammy nodded tears welling up in her eyes, and Lynn pulled her close again, hugging her almost too hard for a minute, Cammy squeezing back with equal force. "Oh baby girl, what are we going to do with you?" She turned, attention still entirely on Cammy as she began guiding her up the lawn, "I'm so sorry that we hurt you like that love, but that doesn't mean you get to run off and disappear like that!" She continued to gently scold her child as she guided her back to the safety of their front door, the yellow of the porch light shining on them both. The others stood back for a moment just watching, the fears of the evening slowly fading away as they realized it was over. Cammy was home.

*.*.*.*.*.*


	14. Return To Toad Hall, Um, or Momma Lynn's

A/N: Two chapters! **Chapter 13 is new too. **Please read, or this one won't make a whole lot of sense. Hope you guys enjoy them!

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*.*.*.*.*

"I think that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," grumbled Mister Theo, before apologizing at Lynn's affronted look, "I'm sorry honey, I shouldn't have said that, but I still don't think it's a good idea. We're all tired and worn out, no one's in a good temper at all. I think," He spoke over the argument he could see coming his way, "I think, that after we eat this delicious soup of yours, we should all head to bed. Already said it once, but apparently no one listens to me anymore. Deal with this in the morning when everyone is feeling a little more rational."

Lynn frowned again, setting a bowl of cheesy broccoli soup in front of Cammy and pressing a kiss to her head, before crossing back to the stove to ladle up her father's, everyone else having said they were still full, "I think it will be best if we get it over with now, so everyone can sleep easy, and tomorrow is a fresh start."

"I understand that Lynn," Theo said picking up his spoon as she set his now full bowl down in front of him, "Thank you." Hungry from both the walk and the worry of the evening, he took a small spoonful of the soup before continuing his thought, "Things would be different if it were earlier in the day, but it's not that far off midnight. I for one, am about dead on my feet and want nothing more than to sleep for about twelve hours."

Lynn now sitting down across from them at the table with her own bowl of soup, snapped at her father, tired herself, and honestly still a bit stung at his earlier comment, "Fine, _you_ can go to sleep. Doesn't change the fact that I'm holding a family meeting in twenty minutes."

"Lynnie…" warned Theo softly, eyebrows scrunching together in disapproval.

Lynn bit her lip, before nodding slightly, "Sorry. That was uncalled for." Theo nodded his acceptance of her apology, taking another bite of his soup and hoping they could put the matter to the side for at least long enough to finish eating. That, of course, was far too good to be true. "Since we can't decide between ourselves, why don't you choose Cammy? Do you want to do the family meeting tonight or tomorrow?"

Cammy looked back and forth between her mother and grandfather, mind blank as she struggled with what to say. No matter what she picked she'd wind up displeasing one of them, although sleep did sound good…

"Now, that isn't fair Lynnie, to make her choose like that, when it's an argument between us. What's the matter with you?" scolded Theo his spoon now flat on the table next to him, not at all happy with his daughter at the moment. Lynn having regretted asking Cammy the second the uncertain look had taken over her daughter's face, opened her mouth to apologize again, this time to her daughter, only to have Theo hold up a hand, his signal that it was still his turn to talk, and start in again, "I'm not going to put her in the middle like that, so I'll just say fine-we'll have your family meeting, but under a few conditions. If it starts to go on too long-more than half an hour or so, it is late-or if people let their tempers get the best of them, I'll put a stop to it. If I say it's time for it to end, then it's time for it to end, and I'll have no arguments from you, you hear?"

Lynn, who had been prepared to capitulate entirely the other way, nodded, a little subdued. "That sounds fair to me."

"Alright," Theo nodded decisively as he picked up his spoon again, "It's settled. Now, everybody let's hurry up and finish our soup."

"I'm done," spoke up Cammy quietly, having been eating through most of their argument.

"Just put your bowl in the sink love, and it's up to you whether you want to wait in here, or go into the den with the others." Lynn smiled reassuringly at Cammy, who nodded and smiled wanly back, before hurriedly moving to set her bowl in the sink and practically fleeing the room. Lynn's smile fell as she watched her leave; she pushed her own bowl to the side and let her head drop to the table, resting it on her hands. "I thought she'd want to stay in here with me."

Theo who had finished off his own bowl, and was walking it to the sink, said over his shoulder, "What that girl wants is for you to take her upstairs, tuck her into bed, and sit with her till she falls asleep." Lynn slumped even more, and Theo crossed the room back to her, resting a wrinkled hand on the back of her neck in comfort, "So you just make sure to do that after this meeting alright?"

Lynn let out a muffled sob onto her hands, before standing suddenly and wrapping her arms around her father, who obligingly hugged her back, bending his head to press a quick kiss to her temple. "Thank you, Daddy."

"For what honey?"

"For being so good to me, even when I'm horrible."

"Hey," said Theo, frowning now, "You're not horrible at all. A bit stubborn maybe, but not horrible."

"Well, thanks anyway." Lynn pulled away from her father, all signs of tears gone except for a bit of redness around her eyes. She brushed her hair behind her ears and smiled tiredly at him, "Let's get this over with."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy quietly slipped next to Brent in the overlarge armchair, cuddling into his side, and he quickly returned the gesture wrapping his arms tightly around her, leaning his head down to breathe in the sweet smell of her hair. "Hope you aren't too pissed at me," she said quietly, looking him in the eyes as she said it, and he smiled at her in return, accepting her not quite apology as it was meant.

"Course not. Just, next time these guys decide to be assholes try and talk to me about it first, okay? If nothing else, we can run off together." She nodded solemnly, and Brent moved his head down, capturing her lips with his, intending a slow, sweet kiss, but Cammy attached herself to him with an urgency he wasn't used too, and well the kiss never became the quick, needy, clashing, struggle of tongues and lips that their make-out sessions often ended in, it was deep and intense, powerful in a way Brent had never felt before, not with Cammy and certainly not with any other girl, and when she finally pulled away, he couldn't help the little whimper that left him. They both stared at each other, Cammy apparently as overwhelmed by the intensity of the kiss as he was. A soft sort of understanding look suddenly stole over Cammy's face, one Brent, the blood flow to his brain already highly impaired, didn't even try and interpret, but he did press another kiss, this one soft and chaste, to her mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled softly at him again, and then turned back to the rest of the room, nestling her head on the top of his shoulder. Brent didn't know it yet, but within a week or so of him finally moving into his apartment, he and Cammy would share something very special. And although it would not quite be the idealized version of her first time she had pictured, it would be a precious memory for many years to come.

*.*.*.*.*.*

The room was chaotic, everyone trying to talk over each other, hands waving as voices were raised. "That is not what I-" "It's what you-" "-stop it!" Frankly it was getting out of hand, and Billy was just waiting for Mister Theo, who had tried mediating at the beginning, even taking part in the discussion, but was now just standing back, looking more and more unhappy, to actually make them stop. He was close to stepping in, Billy could tell, his lips starting to press together in an effort to keep his temper.

Billy stood in the back of the room, trying to remain unnoticed for the most part, as it had started to degenerate into name calling and accusations, frankly feeling overwhelmed. From what he could tell, Alexis and Lily were advocating that Cammy be let off the hook entirely; clearly still feeling guilty about starting the whole mess in the first place. Momma Lynn and Uncle Gav weren't having any of that, but couldn't agree what to do themselves, with for once Momma Lynn wanting a harsher punishment then Uncle Gav. Rick seemed to be on Uncle Gav's side, which put him at odds with both Momma Lynn and Lily.

Billy didn't know much about parenting, but he was fairly certain they should have decided that part on their own, without involving any of them, especially Cammy. That was the way they usually did things anyway, but no one seemed to be acting very rational right now.

Billy was coming down off meth-or maybe detoxing was the better word by now, whatever-and even _he _could see that.

Brent just wanted everyone to stop yelling because it was upsetting Cammy, who was cuddled into his side, mostly staying quiet, but as Brent kept telling everyone to calm down, and was starting to get angry they weren't listening and yell himself, she didn't really have much of a chance _to_ do anything else. Honestly, she didn't really much care who "won" and just wanted this over-not getting punished would be great, even though there was no way it was going to happen, but she felt guilty enough for scaring everyone-her Momma had hugged her for what felt like five minutes before she ever even got inside the house-that she really didn't care if she was on restriction for a month.

If everyone could just stop yelling for a minute, that would be really, really nice. Cammy shifted just a bit so she could cover her ear that wasn't pressed into Brent's shoulder with her hand, wincing as her uncle raised his volume until he was truly shouting, saying some things that were not very nice at all to her Momma Lynn. Her mouth dropped when he started cussing-her Uncle Gav could be weirdly old fashioned in some ways, and he almost _never_ cussed when women were around, although she had it on good authority from the boys that he actually had a fairly dirty mouth.

Mister Theo, who'd been preparing to step in anyway, saw the gesture and his lips thinned even more. He was putting a stop to this _right now_.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"That is it!" shouted Theo, "I have had enough!" Everyone turned to look at him, surprised at the angry tone coming from the usually genial old man. Gavriil opened his mouth to speak, and Theo held up a hand, clearly calling for silence. "I said _enough _Gavriil and I meant it. Clearly, everyone's day has been more than long and tiring, but this is ridiculous." He sent a steady look around the room, the disapproval in his gaze making most of them look to the floor. "We _don't _talk to each other in this way, not in this family. We _don't_ ridicule and we _don't_ name call or accuse, or take out our anger on others in petty ways. I've not raised my children or grandchildren to act that way, and I won't put up with it from any of you. Any more talk about what happened tonight and who is to blame and who is in trouble, can wait until tomorrow. We are _all _going to bed, and no one is going to argue with me about it, you hear?"

The children and Lynn all murmured responses to this, Gavriil conspicuous by his silence. Theo chose to ignore it for the moment, but he certainly noticed. "Alright, Brent, Billy, you help Rick upstairs, and get him anything he might need for getting ready for bed. You boys use the hallway bathroom upstairs, and then bed down in Brent's room." He turned to Billy, "Did you set up the camp beds in there and Lily's old room liked I asked you?"

Billy who had not really been part of the previous argument, except to glare at anyone he felt was being too hard on Cammy, and since he had been annoyed with her too that hadn't really happened until the argument was out of control, had been spending the last few minutes wishing he'd just gone to bed when Mister Theo first suggested it, before they even made it back in the house. Gaining the ability to blend into the wall like a chameleon also sounded good. Either way he hadn't been expecting Mister Theo to speak to him, and was startled enough he didn't respond for a second, before muttering a quiet, "Yes sir."

"Alright, thank you," Theo managed a genuine smile for Billy, aware that he had been the only member of the family who had been behaving just now, him and Cammy anyway, and since she was both half asleep and in quite a bit of trouble already, that didn't really count, before turning back to the group as a whole, "I'm assuming it would be alright with you Lynn if the girls used the bath in your room to get ready?" Lynn nodded quietly, a bit ashamed of her previous behavior-Theo had been right, they were too tired and stressed to handle this rationally, and it should have waited till morning. She would have to find a moment to talk to Cammy alone. "Gavriil and I will use the downstairs bathroom, and then everyone is going to bed. Hop to it." He gestured with his hands, and everyone began to file out of the room, Brent at Rick's side to help him balance, Billy hovering uncertainly behind, not sure of how he was to help, the girls trailing behind them, all forgiven between the three of them at least for the moment, the two oldest doting on Cammy a bit as they left the room.

Lynn headed towards the doorway after a moment, wanting to give the girls some time together before she followed. Gavriil started after her, only for Theo to call him back, "I want to talk to you for a moment, Son."

Gavriil turned back; face all but mutinous, "What? I'm tired."

Theo pointed at him, face stern, "If I were you bud, I'd can it with that attitude." He then pointed at the ground in front of his feet, "Get over here, I don't want you halfway across the room when we talk, that's no way to have a conversation."

Gavriil took a few steps closer then stopped, still quite a ways away from Theo, who made a displeased noise, and closed the distance between them himself, "Look Theo, we're all tired. I'm sorry, I was rude, but I just need to get to bed."

Theo snorted, saying, "I know what you need," as he reached for his son, roughly pulling him close to him.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Theo pulled Gavriil the rest of the way into his arms, chuckling a bit, as Gavriil first tensed in surprise, then relaxed, the tight muscles in his shoulders letting themselves unclench for the first time in hours, "What you need, fool boy, is a hug-though don't think I won't give you the ass whupping you've been asking for if you keep pushing."

Gavriil's surprise had him gratefully accepting his father's hug without really thinking about it, clutching back, chuckling a bit ruefully as his father's words penetrated, "God, I've been acting worse than the kids haven't I?"

"Just a bit. Your sister wasn't any better." Theo patted his back in consolation, "And to be fair, you've had more than a bit of a hard day." Gavriil nodded at that. First they'd all managed to cause that disaster with Cammy, and he'd had to know it was mostly his fault, charging up the stairs the way he had. Then he'd seen Rick half crumpled at the side of a cliff, and the way he'd been slumped against the wall his first thought had been that he was passed out, injured in who knew what way. He never should have let him go ahead by himself, should have known better. As the hours dragged on as they looked for Cammy his worry had grown into a giant knot in his stomach, and even now, after she was home and safe, even after he'd been able to hold her and reassure himself physically that she was alright, the knot had still not gone entirely away.

He was on his last nerve, and hadn't been lying when he told Theo that he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He just wanted to have this day be over. He brought a hand up to his face, pressing it against his eyes and nose, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Theo moved one of the hands that had been hugging him to pat at the back of his shoulder.

"Now, now, Gav everyone's home and everyone's safe. It's all gonna be just fine, son. Things will look better in the morning." Gavriil allowed himself a self-deprecating smile as he realized his father still used the same, mostly mindless, reassuring comforting language he used with his own children when they were upset-and that even at 45 it still worked just fine.

"I'm just waiting for the next kid to self-destruct-I'm beginning to think there is some kind of conspiracy going on here. Like they have an ordered list telling them when they're allowed to drive me crazy."

"Nah," piped up Brent, already clad in his p.j.'s, from the den's doorway, "We're not that well organized."

"Bed." said Theo firmly, making sure to meet his eyes, "You've already been told twice."

Brent nodded and disappeared up the stairs, but not without calling back, "If we did have a list, we'd schedule more time in-between self-destructing!"

Gavriil drew back from his father, pushing his hair back from his face, "You know Brent thought I wasn't proud of him?"

"What?" said Theo surprised, and not quite believing it, "I'm sure that's not true."

"It's not exactly what he said, but it might as well have been." Gav sounded miserable, and Theo frowned, but waited for him to go on. "After I went upstairs and discovered, well, nothing, I was happy enough that I held Brent back and told him I was proud of him-he asked why, and I said for being a more honorable young man than I was at his age, and that was the truth and all I meant by it." Gavriil just stood there after that, seeming lost, and Theo put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly to get his attention.

Theo waited a moment longer, and then spoke up, "I think I must be missing part of the picture here, because that doesn't seem so bad at all."

Gavriil shrugged, "We'd been walking through the woods for about twenty minutes, and I could tell he was upset, but assumed it was because of what happened before dinner, when he asked me if that was seriously why I was proud of him, because I didn't catch him and Cammy having sex. If that's why I had said it." He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, suddenly finding it hard to face his father, "Before I could figure out how to answer he was telling me all about how he knew he wasn't as smart or accomplished as the other kids, but surely I had some other reason to be proud of him, and God, Papa, how _could_ I have let him think something like that? Where the hell did I screw up that he thinks he's not as smart as the others, that I don't take as much pride in him as I do them?"

Theo thought about this for a moment, the hand he'd rested on Gavriil's shoulder squeezing and releasing reflexively in a manner that had always tended to calm his son, "First of all, if Brent honestly thinks he's not as smart as the other kids, we would all share blame in that. And you know son, Brent seemed just fine right now when he went up to bed, so I'm thinking whatever doubts he had you managed to put his mind at ease."

"Brent almost always seems just fine. He has a naturally cheerful demeanor. But what if he's not?" Gavriil looked at his father with his face serious but his eyes pleading, wishing he could just tell him exactly how to fix this, but knowing that wasn't fair to expect.

Theo nodded, easily seeing the unspoken message, and wishing he knew exactly what to tell his son, but well age granted a certain measure of wisdom, it certainly did not make one infallible, "First things first, tell me what you said to Brent after that, and how he responded. We'll go from there."

"Okay." Gavriil, nodded, closing his eyes momentarily to help him recall his words better, "I told him that what I had meant, was that I was proud of the way he treated Cammy, but that of course it wasn't the only reason I had to be proud of him, that he was always doing things that made me proud, constantly, and he is, he really is," Rather than calming down as Theo had hoped he would, describing the events was only making Gavriil more upset, looking earnestly at his father, his voice growing hoarse, and slightly urgent with his last words.

"I know he is, son, I know. I'm certain when he's thinking clearly Brent knows that too." Theo moved closer to his son as he spoke, moving the hand that had been on Gavriil's shoulder to gently squeeze the back of his neck for a moment. "Go on then, tell me what happened next."

"Brent still wouldn't look at me, and from what I could tell, it was because he was trying not to cry. I couldn't think what else to do, so I just started listing some of his good qualities, things that make me proud, he's kind, he's funny-when I got to hardworking, he scoffed and said something like he only worked at the boy's and girl's club, big deal. Apparently he seems to think all his hard work doesn't count since he isn't working towards a degree," Gavriil shook his head at that, and Theo looked befuddled.

"Well, that's just nonsense. Didn't that boy run their summer camp almost entirely by himself last year, when they had to fire that one kid, and then two others quit, and left him and the other workers in the lurch?"

Gavriil nodded, "He did run their 8-10 section by himself, with only a junior counselor to help him. Frankly, if they weren't so appreciative of him, and he wasn't making decent money, I would say they've taken advantage of him. He's more than hardworking." He ran a hand through his hair, "I told him basically that, that the work he's done there has been fantastic, and I was very proud of it and he should be too. And also that his boss gushes about him to me whenever she sees me, and that actually seemed to get through to him at least somewhat. Told me he was freaking out and being stupid, and he would stop, and obviously I told him, he wasn't being stupid, and I was sorry I'd hurt his feelings and made him think I wasn't proud of him. That we would talk more about it later." He smiled then, surprising Theo with his sudden change in moods.

"Then he started telling me all about how he thinks he might want to go into education, but not to be a teacher, but to design summer camps and after school programs. Says you should be able to take a group of kids and if they want to learn about pirates, you can take that and teach them cartography, and astronomy and history, and god Theo, I just want to destroy every person who ever made that boy think he isn't smart. Brent is _so_ smart."

"He's very smart," Theo nodded, having found himself annoyed more than once himself with people's assumptions about his grandson, taking in his messy blond hair and casual way of speaking, and deciding they didn't need to know anymore, "Just because he learns better from life and other people than books, people underestimate him. But we know that, and we can make sure Brent knows it too. Overall Gav, it sounds like you handled this one very well. "

Gavriil shrugged, "I'm not sure about that, but I suppose it could have been a lot worse. I just don't know how it ended up like this. Three days ago I thought things were _fine. _Now, Billy's addicted to serious drugs, in a very messy situation that involves blackmail of all things, and I didn't notice a damn thing for _three years_. Rick still feels the need to push and test me whenever a crisis or something serious happens, and I'm beginning to think that will never change. Cammy is so insecure that she has multiple "safe spots" as she called them, to hide in if things go wrong, and Brent thinks he's not as smart as his siblings, that his accomplishments aren't worth as much. How the hell did I let things get this bad?"

Theo bit his lip, not sure how to say that those things being true, though some of them only partially, didn't make them _Gavriil's_fault. Their family was not contained in a glass bubble, the outside world, particularly in Billy and Cammy's case had helped to cause a lot of those problems. And some things, like Rick's need to test Gavriil, probably _would_ never go away. That was normal-even in her mid-forties Lynn was still dealing with the abandonment issues her parents had left her. "Obviously I fucked things up somewhere along the line." Gavriil's issues on the other hand revolved more around self-worth…he was half-convinced the boy had a case of survivor's guilt, and- "Maybe I should never have come back in the first place, things would probably be better if I hadn't."

Theo's head shot up at that, his eyes flashing at Gavriil's words. "Excuse me? What did you say young man?"

"Theo…" Gavriil tried quietly, but Theo was having none of it.

"No. I don't ever want to hear you say that again." He glared fully at his son, in truth angrier at the turmoil the man was putting himself though than anything else. "Of course we wouldn't be better off without you! This family needs you. Do you really think I could run that store by myself at 83 years old? Those kids need you-they might call you uncle, but we both now damn well that you are their daddy, you do every damn thing for them a daddy is supposed to do. And where would you and Lexi be if you hadn't come here? Do you think we'd be better off if you'd just disappeared like you intended all those years ago? Like we wouldn't have been missing a part of us that could never be filled? No, Gavriil, I don't want to _ever_ hear you say something like that again." He kept his eyes solid on Gav, waiting for his response.

"I've completely fucked things up-I _am_ a fuck-up. I'm sorry, but you all probably would've been better off if I never moved back." Gavriil wouldn't have been too surprised to receive a cuff on the side of the head for his comment-his father had _views_ about talking yourself down-but the stinging swat to the back of his leg caught him completely by surprise.

"Papa, I'm not one of the children." He said sounding vaguely shocked, taking a step back to put himself out of target range, momentarily startled out of his funk.

"You might not be a child, but you're still _my_ child." Theo pointed a finger up at Gavriil's face, wagging it in warning. "I said I didn't want to hear you say that, and I meant it. Got me?" Gavriil nodded his compliance, still feeling rather depressed and out of sorts, but not willing to push the point, "Alright then. Come on, I'll help you pull out the sofa bed, it's easier with two people." Theo clapped Gav twice on the shoulder, and gestured for the younger man to follow him as he left the room.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Theo?" questioned Gavriil from where he leaned against the bathroom wall, waiting his turn to brush his teeth, having already changed into his pajama pants in the living room while Theo changed in the bathroom.

Theo spat, rinsing off his toothbrush then laying it on the counter, reaching for the mouthwash and a Dixie cup as he answered, "Yes Gav?" looking at Gavriil's reflection in the mirror.

"Did you really know I was planning on disappearing when you came to get me?" Gavriil ducked his head as he said it, still ashamed of this admission even nine years later, and Theo turned back to face him with a tired sigh.

"Well it took Lynn awhile to convince me-I had a hard time believing you could be so foolish, but then again I'd believed the lies you were telling me when we talked. By the time we decided to come get you I realized that must have been exactly what you were planning."

"I'm sorry."

Theo nodded, "I know you are, Gav. It was a long time ago. Everything has been forgiven years ago." Gavriil looked at his father for a moment, and something in his expression must have been what he was hoping to see, because he nodded in return.

"Must have been pretty livid at first though, huh?" He forced a smile, but Theo, turning back to the mirror, played along for the moment, even though Gavriil could tell his attempt was pretty pathetic, shaking his head and chuckling just a bit.

"Sonny-boy, I don't think I have ever before, or since then, been as mad at you as I was the two days we drove to get you. Didn't help when we pulled up to the address Lynn had managed to get from someone, and saw a dilapidated hotel, probably filled with who knows what." He shook his head again, "Don't think you know how lucky you are I didn't send Lexi down to Lynn and whup your ass right there, right then." Theo took a moment to tip back his cupful of mouthwash, gargling and spitting the blue liquid into the sink, before returning his gaze to Gavriil's reflection.

Gavriil blushed, but met his father's eye in the mirror. After a moment he confessed, "I would have deserved it." He hesitated for a minute, Theo waiting for him to finish, fairly certain he knew what was coming next, "Why didn't you?"

"Because it wasn't what you needed from me. If you'd needed me to come in and whup your ass into shape, I would have done it in a heartbeat, and I still will if it comes down to it. But what you needed from me then was to be your father, to reassure you were safe, and take you home and prove it. You'd been hurt, been hurting for a long time, and you needed me to make it better." His father looked at him sincerely, "The only thing I regret is that I didn't realize you needed me sooner. If I'd known what was really going on I would have dragged your butt home a lot quicker."

"You came, though. You came and got us right when I needed you the most." Gavriil forced himself to stop talking then, doing his best to swallow back his excess emotions.

"I always will, long as I'm able." Theo said it matter of factly, tossing his used Dixie cup into the trash, and the truth was it really was that simple. For as long as his body could move, if one of his children needed him he would be there.

"I-I just," Gavriil moved closer to the doorway, then back to his previous spot, then again, not quite pacing, but almost, and Theo turned back around, leaning back on the counter to appraise his son, hands splayed on either side of him.

"Whatever else it is that's on your mind, Gavriil, just say it. It'll be alright."

"Today with Cammy-she was only gone for three hours or so right? And I was still so worried. After three hours. And I was going to do that to you for…for forever. I had no intention of contacting any of you ever again-I can hardly even understand why myself now, but I didn't. I was just going to…leave."

"I would have found you." Theo straightened as he said it, attempting to make eye contact with his son, who wasn't quite looking at him, "Wherever you went I would have found you."

Gavriil shrugged still not looking at his father, "Maybe. But I still…I still…" He trailed off, and Theo took a good long look at his son, before nodding to himself, and taking a step away from the counter.

"Come here, Gavriil." He said it firmly, expectantly, so that Gav started to move towards him automatically before he considered why his father would need him close. Before he had time to really think, Theo had ahold of his right arm and was bending him over the bathroom sink, at an angle so his long body wouldn't be pressed into the faucet and handle, his arm bent neatly into the small of his back. Gavriil hesitated-he could easily break his father's hold, but he didn't want to accidently hurt him, and well, in truth he'd known there was a chance this would happen when he admitted to the guilt that still at times overwhelmed him- *_Whap_*.

Gavriil sucked in a breath, Theo might not have been as strong as he used to be, but he was certainly no slouch. That had stung, right through the thick sweat material of his pants. Another whack followed quickly, Theo's voice hitting his ears right after, "I said you were forgiven and I meant it." *_Whack_* Theo caught him low, his hand swinging up and under. "But apparently you still need to forgive yourself. I can help you with that." Two more smacks then, both in the same spot, and Gav let himself drop his head to the counter, letting his body slump as he realized he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He wasn't in charge.

Theo set into a rhythm then, starting high and landing two smacks in a spot before inching his way down, working his hand all the way down one cheek, before starting on the next. It had been quite a long time since he'd had to hand out a whupping, over twenty years ago in fact, when his children had snuck off to a three day music festival without even letting him know they weren't going to be in town. It seemed to him that it was one of those things that one never really forgot, no matter how many years it had been, his hand easily finding a pattern he could keep pace with.

Theo began speaking again as his son began shifting a bit, no longer able to keep still, "You didn't just disappear Gav-maybe you were planning it, but it didn't happen son, not for real. You shouldn't torment yourself over a crime you never committed." He laid down a few more whacks, low to emphasize his point, and Gavriil went up on his tip-toes, his body subconsciously trying to move him away from the sting.

"If you run, I will always find you. Long as you need me. If you ever truly _wanted_ to leave, for yourself, not because you thought we would be better off without you, but because you wanted to, I wouldn't stop you-I wouldn't let you just disappear, and you can damn well expect me to be visiting-but I wouldn't stop you. But," He hoisted his son a bit farther over the counter, exposing the crease between his legs and his ass, "You will never," Theo landed a stinging slap to the top of one thigh, "Ever," a slap to the other, "leave because you think we'd be better off without you." Theo released his son's arm, moving back a bit so he could stand when he wanted, "That just isn't possible son. We could never be better off without you."

Gavriil gasped as he lay against the counter, trying to steady his breathing. As far as whuppings go, it was far from the worst he'd ever had-his father hadn't even made him cry, though tears had been starting to sting his eyes at the end. After going nearly twenty five years without one however, it had been more than a bit of a shock to his system, and it was a bit before he started to push himself off the counter, his father moving forward as he did to steady him and help him stand.

The words more than anything had been what he needed to hear. He was sure his father had expressed similar sentiments over the years-remembered him doing so.

Somehow, when you combined them with a hand repeatedly hitting his ass, they became a bit easier to take in and understand. He looked up at Theo, who still had a steadying hand on his arm. Gav smiled shakily at him, "Thanks."

Theo shook his head, amused despite himself, "Anytime son. Come on, brush your teeth, and let's get you into bed, alright?" Gavriil nodded, moving a bit away from Theo, and picking up his tooth-brush.

As he stared, into the mirror, toothbrush working busily in his mouth, he was surprised to see even with his watery eyes and red nose, he looked better than he had when he first came into the bathroom. Relieved even.

Gavriil spat into the sink, shaking his head at himself. He must be crazy, but the truth was, he felt better than he had in a while. Much longer than just the past three days.

*.*.*.*.*.*

A/N: I am hoping for some comments on my characterization. Are people consistent in their traits, and speech patterns? Do any of them act to much like someone else? Are there faults realistic, too much, etc? Please guys, I would really appreciate some input from you! I don't have a beta, and I can't share this with anyone in real life so...


	15. Early-Risers

*.*.*.*.*.*

AN: Yes I know it has been a million years again. Sorry! I would up on vacation with a broken charging cable and no way to get a new one. I assure you, it was torture. lol.

Anyway I really hope you enjoy this.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy rolled over in bed for what had to be the hundredth time that night. She'd actually fallen asleep nearly as soon as her head hit the pillow, Momma Lynn sitting by her and humming softly for nearly an hour as she had first drifted off. When her momma had gotten up to leave something had woken her, the movement of her mother's skirt or perhaps some small squeak of a floorboard. She could have called her momma back, she knew that, but it was well after midnight then, and Cammy knew how exhausted she must have been.

It had been at least three hours and she hadn't been able to fall asleep since, no matter how hard she tried. No daydream was captivating enough, no matter how boring counting sheep was her eyes would not stay closed.

Her sisters were both sleeping on either side of her-she'd somehow wound up with the coveted real bed, even though technically it was still Lily's-and their soft breathing (along with the occasional snort from Lily, and muttered word from Lexi) wasn't helping her fall asleep like it usually did. She stifled a groan and thumped her head back into her pillow.

Today had been a disaster. Tomorrow was fairly certain to be even worse. At least with the late night, she should be getting out of school for the day. She frowned as it occurred to her that they just might make her go-it would be a sort of fitting punishment, trying to survive on the few hours of sleep she would have gotten between going to bed and having to be up at seven the next day. Now that she was not really sleeping at all, it would pretty much just be torture.

And if she fell asleep in class there would be detention to deal with. Uhg. At least there was only a few weeks left 'til summer.

Cammy rolled over in bed again, her thoughts returning to the same particular topic again and again. She couldn't quite get her brothers' words to her off her mind-both of them, really, although at this particular moment Rick's were weighing heavier on her. He hadn't been mean, or even really scolded her for more than a minute or two. Which really just made it worse. It would have been much easier not to take his words seriously if he hadn't ruffled her hair and hugged her after he said them. But Rick had been both very kind and very serious.

Cammy had been walking from Momma Lynn's room when Rick had called out to her, from where he was already laying down on Brent's bed, his foot propped on a pillow…

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Cammy!" She turned automatically when she heard her brother's voice calling her, years of him being "in charge" when they were off around town ingraining the response in her. As she looked through the doorway and saw his face, Cammy rather wished it wasn't such an immediate reaction. Rick didn't look upset, not exactly anyway-but he had an expression on his face that told her they were going to talk, it was going to happen now, and there really wasn't much point in arguing it.

With a small, and hopefully unnoticed, sigh she walked into the room, glancing with a frown over to where Billy and Brent were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who got which camp bed. As far as she could tell they were all identical, so there wasn't much point, but oh well. Rick noticed her look, and with a jerk of his head said to the boys, "Hey guys, clear out for a second, would you?"

They nodded, and left the room, Billy wishing her a quiet "good luck", which didn't increase her nervousness at _all_, really. "C'mere Cammy." She walked closer reluctantly, and when she got close enough Rick grabbed her hand, and tugged her down so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him. "So first of all-good job covering your tracks. That was the lesson we worked on the most, the last few years, and I think this is the first time you pulled it off so I couldn't see a single trace of you."

Cammy stared at her brother as though he was an alien-she had certainly not expected to receive a _compliment _on her ability to evade detection. As she pondered this Rick said her name, getting her to actually focus on him again, rather than just stare in his general direction. "Yeah Rick?"

He leaned just a bit closer, his face growing serious, "You will never use anything I taught you to pull something like this again. That's messed up Cammy-I taught you those things because they're useful, you're good at them, and we both had a lot of fun with the lessons. Not so you could use them against me, let alone put yourself at risk with them. That's a violation of trust." Cammy's heart dropped just a little; she hadn't been thinking about Rick when she left, but she _had_ used the skills he taught her to worry their entire family. He was right-that was messed up. "If you do something like this again-and I don't give a crap about why-when we find you I will whup your butt, right there, right then, long as Uncle Gav doesn't beat me to it." Her face went red; as much as she tried to stop it she could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks. She wasn't really sure if he was serious or not-but just the fact that he felt the need to say it was bad enough. Rick hesitated before he dropped the final bomb, "And Cammy-if this happens again, I…I can't teach you anymore woodcraft."

Cammy looked at him for a second, aghast at the words, before bursting out against them. "No Rick! Please! We're supposed to go camping, and build our own shelters and gather food and everything this summer! Just the two of us! You promised!" Rick pushed himself up, grabbing his sister's hands and holding them in-between his.

"Hey, hey, I just said only if something like this happens again. All you have to do is keep your nose clean, and you don't even have to worry about it. Okay?" Cammy looked up at him, face miserable, but nodded, taking a deep, shaky breath.

"Promise?"

"Of course, Cammy-Wammy." Cammy made a face at the "hated" nickname, but let Rick pull her close for a minute, ruffling the hair she had just brushed. "Alright," He said pulling away a moment later, "Time for us all to hit the sheets. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

Cammy nodded, standing up from the bed, still feeling a little emotional, but managing a smile and a quiet, "See you in the morning." for her brother. Just before she left the room she turned back, with a hesitant, "Rick?"

"Yeah baby girl?"

"I didn't mean to do any of that-the violating your trust and stuff. I just-it didn't occur to me that's what I was doing at all. I'm sorry." She looked at him from under her eyelashes, nervous even though she knew he would accept her apology.

"It's okay, Cammy. I said my piece and now everything between us is good. Okay?" Rick looked at her seriously, and then smiled, "Now get to bed before Mister Theo kicks our asses for not listening." Cammy giggled a bit, and headed down the hallway with one more goodnight for her eldest brother. As she started to pass by Brent and Billy, holding up the wall a little further down the hallway, she paused and considered Billy, suddenly realizing she had apologized to everyone but him. It wasn't that she hadn't intended to-but somehow it had gotten lost in the shuffle. Judging from the stack of text messages on her phone that ranged from pleadingly apologetic to beyond furious, things were not okay between them no matter how pleased to see her he'd seemed earlier. He hadn't really talked to her either…

Realizing she was staring at him, Billy looked back at Cammy, a bit concerned, "What's up?"

She shrugged, suddenly not sure what to say, "Nothing, I guess." As Billy stared at her in consternation, certain this was not at all true, it occurred to him that things were awkward between them, had been for a while. Cammy had always been able to talk to him about pretty much everything, and he her. They had their secrets from each other, but they also shared a lot with each other that no one else knew. That had changed over the last six months or so, and with his heart sinking, Billy was certain that was his fault.

How many times had Cammy tried to talk to him lately, and he'd just brushed her off? Acted like he was listening when he really wasn't? Or been so high he tried to listen and got distracted, zoning out on something, staring off into space, or interrupting her to blather about whatever had crossed his mind?

Well, no more. He looked at Brent, and with a jerking motion of his head asked him to give them some room. Brent, acting like Billy had done nothing at all, yawned and stretched, and with a quiet goodnight and quick kiss to Cammy's cheek headed down the hallway to bed. Billy turned back to Cammy, who was looking at the gap in-between where he was in the hallway and the wall, as though wondering if she could make it through without him stopping her.

"C'mon Cammy, you can't fool me. Just say it." He looked at her imploringly, but at the same time inched his long body slightly over so she'd be less likely to just try and brush past him.

Cammy shrugged, not really sure how to answer. Billy was right; she _couldn't _fool him and that was-reassuring. Cammy relaxed slightly as a small piece of normal slipped back into place for her. "I don't know, I guess…we didn't really talk much earlier, but I…I thought you would be, well, a lot madder at me. At least that you'd want to talk to me about it, scold me a little I guess. It's stupid…I should be happy about that right? But…I don't know. Ordinarily you care a lot more about what I do…and that's been different lately." She shrugged again, looking at Billy's chin instead of his eyes.

Okay. Billy knew he hadn't _actually _just had his heart ripped out of his chest and stomped into the floor, but damn if that isn't what those words felt like. Cammy picked up on his distress even as he tried to push it down so she wouldn't, and began jabbering, eager as always to keep the peace, "But I know you've had a lot on your mind, and now you're talking to me, so obviously you do care, and we're just fine, right?"

Billy closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, his blue searching for Cammy's green. "Look Cammy, I've been screwing up a lot of things lately, but that's going to change, alright? I never meant," Billy drew in a deep breath to keep the tears that were pushing at the back of his eyes in," Never meant to make you feel like that. Like I didn't care. That is so far from the truth I can't even say it. Of course I care. I know I can't change the past, can't take it back, not really, but nothing like this is going to happen again, that's a promise. We stick together you and me, right? We're Pinky and The Brain; we function better as a team."

Cammy smiled slightly at the reference from their childhood games, and her own teary eyes met his as she answered back, "Just as long as I get to be The Brain." She stepped forward and hugged her brother, relieved as he squeezed her back. As she pulled away a long moment later, Billy hesitated then put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her eyes back to him.

"So just so you know, no I'm not happy about today. I didn't say anything downstairs-", He hadn't said anything downstairs because he hadn't wanted to somehow make that mess of a "family meeting" worse, but he couldn't really say that, "because I kind of thought the adults should have the floor. But you scared the shit out of me today Cammy. I just," Billy hesitated, not really sure how to phrase the next part. A part of his mind was always on Cammy, didn't matter what else was going on. It had had to be when they were small-if he wasn't making sure Cammy's clothes were warm enough, that she wasn't running into the road, that she ate her meat and veggies, who would?-and even now, when others had been taking the main brunt of those responsibilities for over a decade, he still had a small part of himself always focused on his sister, making sure she was okay.

"I can't lose you Cammy. There was so long where the only thing we really had was each other, you and I. Okay, I knew you were probably fine tonight-didn't change the fact that it was scary as hell not knowing where you were or whether you were okay." Cammy bit her lip, feeling both touched and even guiltier than before.

"You're not gonna lose me."

"You're not invincible Cammy." Billy shook his head at his sister, a slightly exasperated smile tugging at his lips, "Only sometimes I think you think you are."

Cammy gave Billy a knowing look, "I'm the one who thinks they're invincible?"

Billy laughed ruefully, and ran a hand through his hair, nodding as he did so, "Okay, point on that one."

The two stood there for a minute, quietly enjoying the other's presence, before Cammy had gestured to the hallway behind her brother, "I should…"

"Yeah, me too." Billy shifted on one foot, before leaning forward and snagging his little sister into a hug, squeezing her tightly, not aware that this was the first hug he had initiated between them in over a month. Cammy was however and after freezing for a second, hugged him back tightly, relieved as another small piece of her world slid back into place.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy shifted, turning on her side as she recalled the earlier events. All of that should have been reassuring, right? Things were slowly getting back to normal, and she'd made up with both Rick and Billy. Yet she couldn't sleep. She rolled over again, contemplating getting up. Cammy frowned at that. She wasn't hungry or thirsty, had no real reason to get out of bed, but could not get the desire to go downstairs out of her head. If Uncle Gav weren't sleeping in the living room she could see what was on TV…

Uncle Gav. Cammy hesitated, her lip unconsciously tucking itself between her teeth. When she was small and had sleepovers with Lexi and couldn't sleep, or was woken up because of a bad dream or a thunderstorm, she had crept downstairs to the safety of Uncle Gav. He was always up late, doing paperwork for the store and watching late night stand-up, and he'd let her curl up beside him on the couch, covering her with the afghan that laid on the back of it, and turning down the TV volume. Sometimes he sang to her, the only one who ever had. That sounded so nice…but Cammy was far too old for such things, and either way Uncle Gav would be asleep by now. It wouldn't be fair to wake him.

He was probably still mad at her anyway, yeah he'd said that stuff in the woods about being more disappointed than angry, but she was fairly certain that was just something people said when they were the type of angry that didn't involve wanting to scream at you. She'd drift off eventually if she was just patient enough, she was sure of it.

It took her rolling over in bed twice more before Cammy was up and padding slowly down the stairs.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Cammy hesitated just inside the doorway to the living room, eyeing the sleeping form of her uncle. What was she thinking? It was the middle of the night; she couldn't just wake him up because she couldn't sleep. Couldn't wake him up just to tell him things between them didn't "feel right." What did that even mean anyway?

With a sad sigh Cammy turned back to the doorway, resigning herself to a sleepless night. She was about halfway through it, when a tired voice called out to her, "Cammy?" She turned back and saw her uncle propped up on one elbow, squinting at her through the darkness. "You need something Bushka?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil frowned softly, still mostly asleep, as he heard soft footsteps come into the living room, and then halt for a moment. His barely awake brain heard the noise but didn't really process it until the footsteps started up again, this time leaving the room. He pried his eyes open and pushed himself half-upright in time to see Cammy starting to leave the room, "Cammy?" She turned back towards him slowly, her arms wrapped around her middle in a self-hug, and he frowned sleepily, "You need something Bushka?"

She shook her head, but made no move to leave the room, if anything inching a bit forward, "Couldn't sleep. Sorry I woke you, I should probably," her left hand went up and over her shoulder, thumb pointing at the stairs, before immediately rewrapping itself around her middle, "head back up."

"Think you'll be able to get back to sleep on your own?" Gavriil had pushed himself all the way up into a sitting position by now, ignoring the twinge in his rear, watching her with concern, which only grew when she shrugged absently, as though it didn't really matter, not quite looking at him. "Why don't you come sit with me for a while?"

Cammy shot another hesitant look at him, taking a few steps forward as she asked, "I'm not bugging you?" Gavriil shook his head firmly and opened one of his blanket covered arms.

"Of course not, Bushka. Come here." He said the last with just a bit of command in his tone, not liking watching his niece be so uncertain, especially about her welcome with him. Cammy walked the last few steps and then tucked herself quickly against Gavriil's side, as though scared he would change his mind and send her away. Gav simply wrapped his long arm around her shoulder, making sure to arrange the blanket so it covered her as well, pulling her closer when she shivered. "You're freezing. How long have you been up?"

Cammy said, "Uhh…" and trailed off hesitantly, not wanting to tell her Uncle she had spent a good ten minutes standing at the base of the stairs before she ever made it down the hall towards the living room, debating whether or not to go back up to bed.

Gavriil snorted at the non-answer, "Never mind. Just next time, put on your robe and slippers alright? No need to catch a chill." Cammy nodded from where her head was tucked against the front of his shoulder, using it as a pillow and Gavriil began to hum quietly, and then to sing, his deep voice somehow clear and rumbly at the same time, soothing, as the words to the old lullaby flowed into Cammy's head.

"Lozhkoj sneg meshaja, Noch' idet bol'shaja, Chto zhe ty, glupyshka, ne spish'?" He began to rock just slightly to the rhythm in the song, and Cammy closed her eyes, snuggling even closer, "Spjat tvoi sosedi - Belye medvedi, Spi skorej i ty, malysha. My plyvem na l'dine, Kak na brigantine, Po sedym, surovym morjam." There was a brief lull and then Gavriil's lips found her forehead, pressing firmly for a moment before he pulled back and continued singing, "I vsju noch' sosedi, Zvezdnye medvedi Svetjat dal'nim korabljam…"

She didn't quite know what the words meant-Lexi had tried to translate it for her once, something about storms, children needing to go to bed, polar bears and sleeping on ice floes, but her Russian wasn't very good and Cammy didn't quite trust her version-but she could still sing along if she wanted, she'd heard the words so many times. As her Uncle began the short song over again, slightly quieter, Cammy snuggled deeper into the blanket and felt a yawn overtake her. By the time he'd finished the third rendition she was fast asleep.

Gavriil sat with her until he was sure she was deeply asleep-and then just a bit longer for good measure. She had scared him very badly that day. Finally he eased himself out from under her, laying her down on the couch and tucking the blanket in around her, making sure her head found its way to a pillow. He stretched and yawned himself before making his way to the hope chest in the corner of the room and snagging an extra blanket out of it, and then settling himself into a nearby armchair-the one with the built-in foot rest. He could still catch a few more hours of sleep, and this way he would be nearby if Cammy woke.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Billy sat on the window seat, idly scratching at an itchy spot on his neck, staring out over the few families in the cul-de-sac getting ready to leave for the day, parents attempting to pilot children into waiting vehicles as the kids ran back into the house for a forgotten item, or squabbled with siblings, toddler's being kissed goodbye by whichever parent was leaving for work, and one couple-they reminded him of an older Lily and Rick, and were always amusing to watch-that spent far too much time kissing goodbye, before one or the other of them would pull away with a shout, looking at their watch and soon after both would dart to their cars.

Billy glanced down at the sketch pad lying on his knee, pencils lined up neatly in a row waiting to be used, and sighed. There were a few small doodles on the page-one of Brent snoring, limbs sprawled in all directions, hanging off the camp bed. Another of Mr. & Mrs. Monroe's old classic ford truck in their driveway-he didn't like it 'cause he couldn't get the shading right where the light gleamed off the paint. They weren't bad, but nothing compared to his usual standard, and he just couldn't seem to get inspired. He _wanted_ to draw, hence the sketches, but he couldn't seem to focus on something and get really into it the way he usually did.

Ordinarily when he drew Billy could barely look away from whatever it was-he didn't rush, wouldn't ruin his work in that way, but he had to memorize as much of the subject as he could before something changed. Not just the way things looked, but the way they _felt._ _That _was the important part. No one noticed if a small detail was off, the angle of a ray of sun, or the position of a person's foot slightly different-not that Billy couldn't be anal about those things. But if the corners of their eyes crinkling up as a smile stole over his subject's face didn't make you want to smile too just because you saw it, Billy hadn't done his job right.

Still scratching at the spot on his neck, he knew damn well why he couldn't draw. He was fiending worse than he ever had before, hadn't been able to sleep at all-the only reason he hadn't climbed out the window and gone off on a nighttime "mission" was outright fear over what would happen if he was caught. He'd fucked up far too much lately to risk doing so again.

Not that getting spun would really help his work-he never had trouble drawing when he was, would often spend hours drawing intricate mural like pieces-but more often than not they were creepy and weird, darker then the sort of things he usually drew, and generally once he was sober again he'd wind up burning them, not wanting them mixed in with his normal artwork.

Rick and Brent were still asleep, and from the lack of noise in the rest of the house so was everyone else. With the late night everyone had, Billy supposed that was normal. It seemed like the store would be closed today, since it was close to eight already, nearly an hour after they usually opened during the week.

Just as he had resigned himself to another few hours of staring out the window, footsteps he hadn't really heard stopped in front of the open doorway. Without turning Billy knew it was his Uncle Gav. "Hey, morning."

"Morning, Billy-boy," Gavriil spoke around a yawn, leaning tiredly against the doorjamb, "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep," Billy said, turning where he sat with a shrug. His Uncle gave him a sympathetic look, then suddenly straightened, looking much more awake as Billy turned even further towards him. "What?"

"Your neck." Gavriil said it quietly, still shocked, touching his own neck with the tips of his fingers. Billy pulled his hand away from where his fingers had still been busily scratching, puzzled, and felt his stomach roll with nausea as he stared at his bloody fingertips. He looked up at his uncle in confused horror, slightly terrified at what was happening to his body.

"I-I didn't even feel it-didn't even-I-" Gavriil took over as his nephew continued to stammer, crossing the room and smoothing the boy's hair as he examined his neck. He'd more than broken the skin, but it could have been worse. He patted Billy's shoulder, and then pulled him to his feet.

"It's not so bad. C'mon, we'll go get it cleaned and bandaged, and then chat for a bit well everyone else is still sleeping." As he guided a still shocked Billy out of the room, Gavriil promised himself to talk to Lynn later-there must be something they could do to make this easier on the boy, and at the very least he needed to know what Billy was going to go through as he got that poison out of his system. How long would this last? Did he need special treatment?

If nothing else he was going to extract a promise from his nephew to wake him-or anyone really-the next time he couldn't sleep like that. There was no need for him to suffer alone.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lexi rolled over in bed, yawning and preparing to shove her face back in the pillow, even if the camp bed wasn't very comfortable. Her barely cracked eyes glanced over the empty bed next to her, and for a second she didn't think anything of it, before her eyes flew all the way open and she was suddenly wide awake. _Where was Cammy?_

She sat bolt upright in bed, looking around the room to make sure she hadn't somehow missed her. When Lexi saw she really wasn't there she practically jumped out of bed, her brain telling her to find her sister _now._ She left the room, not even thinking of waking Lily, and was halfway down the stairs before the sunlight streaming in the window next to her made her realize there just might be another explanation. Lexi glanced at the wall clock mounted a little further down the stairs and felt an embarrassed flush creeping up her neck. Nine in the morning-Cammy was probably eating breakfast or something.

She continued down the stairs, figuring she might as well join her if she was up. Yawning now that her adrenaline rush was mostly over, Alexis plodded down the hallway, and quickly realized the kitchen was empty. Well…maybe she was in the living room or the den? A little more calm now, Lexi figured it would be better to just check rather then send up the alarm. She poked her head around the living room doorway, and sighed in relief when Cammy was there, sleeping on the couch. She watched her sister for a minute, and then nodded to herself. Cammy looked to be doing just fine at the moment, and Lexi wasn't about to wake her. She paused for a second, suddenly unsure what to do with herself.

A moment later she was heading down the hall to the kitchen again. She was hungry, and the others would be too, if they ever got out of bed. Might as well get started on breakfast.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil frowned at the information coming up on his small screen, as he sat at the picnic table, keeping one eye on Billy. The boy had outright begged him for some air, and so despite the early hour and them both being in their pajamas they sat outside, Billy kneeling nearby in the dewy grass as he sketched something or other-although it looked like it might turn into tossing the sketchpad aside soon, as frustration began to grow on the boy's face and his pencil strokes became rougher and rougher.

The information he was discovering on meth addiction was…not pretty was a simple way to put it. Well not all the websites agreed, many of them said that actual withdrawal wouldn't even start until 30 to 90 days after an addict's last use.

Gavriil shuddered at that word. He did not want to think of Billy as an addict, but, as there was little doubt he _was _addicted, he supposed it was an accurate term. He looked down and reread the information on the small screen. So far this site was the best out of all of them. Billy had already started to crash, but even after that day of deep sleep it was clear it was not all the way out of his system, so more than likely that would happen again. Then he would go into something called a hangover, and well his sleep system would begin to even itself out, it would be awhile before it was anything approaching normal, and in the meantime he would possibly have intense mood swings, periods of being highly active, mixed with being lethargic, be fearful or untrusting of others, strong cravings…the list went on and frankly it was overwhelming.

But lists were often overwhelming, and dealt with one at a time they could get through this no problem. It would be hard on all of them, most of all Billy, but they could deal with it. It was the next part of the page that scared him.

During the withdrawal stage 93% of addicts go back to using. Ninety-fucking-three percent. It was a terrifying number.

He supposed he couldn't blame them considering the symptoms that were listed. It would take a strong person to get through such things, and honestly, well Gavriil was fairly certain Billy was strong enough; he did not know how he himself would fare in his nephew's shoes. Severe depression, loss of energy, no ability to feel pleasure, and all that was listed as happening before the more severe cravings for the drug started. Often leading to suicidal thoughts and behavior…Gavriil closed his eyes, pained. Billy was just a child, still a teenager. He should not have to deal with things like this.

His eyes opened again as he heard Billy let out a strangled cry, and he looked at him in time to see him begin ripping pages out of his sketchpad, tearing and crumbling them before tossing them away from himself fiercely, half-strangled, tearless sobs almost ripping themselves from his chest. Gavriil gaped for half a second before moving, dropping to his knee's beside Billy a second later, wresting the prized sketchpad away from the boy and tossing it to the side, knowing how devastated he would be if it were entirely destroyed. Billy fought him, screaming his words so that Gavriil could not even understand him, and he grabbed the boy turning him in his arms and plunking on the ground Indian style so he could hold him in his lap, wrapping his arms around him so Billy's were pinned to his sides. He'd been thrashing so severely that Gav was honestly scared he would harm himself if let go.

This was so much worse than he had thought it would be, even after his reading. Billy screamed again, demanding to be let go, his anger mixed with tears now, his words even more unintelligible. So much worse. Gav wracked his brain, desperate to figure out some way to calm his nephew, when the opening line of the lullaby he had sung to Cammy earlier ran through his head. And why not? His mother had sung it to calm him, as well as to put him to sleep; there was no reason not to try it.

The big man took a deep breath and began rocking and humming slightly, before opening his mouth and letting the words flow out, "Lozhkoj sneg meshaja, Noch' idet bol'shaja, Chto zhe ty, glupyshka, ne spish'?" Billy was still pushing against him, trying to get free, but as the melody hit his ears he froze for a moment, and the timber of his cries began to change from angry to sad. "Spjat tvoi sosedi – Belye medvedi, Spi skorej i ty, malysh." He stopped fighting at that word, and leaned back into his uncle, his cries already muffling to harsh sobs, "My plyvem na l'dine, Kak na brigantine, Po sedym, surovym morjam. I vsju noch' sosedi, Zvezdnye medvedi, Svetjat dal'nim korabljam." Gavriil took a breath and started over, the young man in his arms breath slowly calming, and when he got to the end Billy surprised him by opening his mouth and shakily singing the last line with him. Before he could ask where the boy had learned the words, he told him.

"Uncle Lev used to sing it to me." Oh. Gavriil squeezed Billy even closer for a moment.

"You alright now?" He rumbled the words quietly into Billy's hair, feeling the boy's body shutter slightly with each breath.

"I think so." His voice was still very shaky, and rather than trying to get up he leaned back into his uncle's chest. It was made awkward by the fact that the two were nearly the same height, but Gavriil merely moved his head to the side, not paying any attention to the bump his nose had received.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" Well there was no doubt that his behavior had been severely acerbated by his detoxing, that had not simply been a random episode. Just because Gavriil could not understand most of them did not mean he didn't realize there had been words and sentences in his nephew's garbled shouts.

"I ruined it." Billy said it with finality and deep, deep depression, and Gavriil frowned; certain this had not simply been due to a mistake on a drawing, no matter how Billy made it sound.

Also, that was a check on the mood swings-from hysterical anger, to a sadness that was almost grieving, to a calm, sort of apathetic depression, in under five minutes.

"Ruined what?"

"My art. My talent. I destroyed it, abused it and neglected it, and now it's ruined. Everything I draw is crap. I hate it, and I hate that I still want to draw so bad, but every time I do…I'm not good anymore Uncle Gav. I'm not." Billy bowed his head when he said it, but did not cry. Gav honestly thought it would have been better if he had. This was not fresh pain and mourning… this was the resigned defeat of one who has already spent too long in denial. How long had this been bothering him? Why hadn't he said anything?

Okay, stupid question. He couldn't bring this up without bringing up what else he had been doing, and therefore neglected the whole issue entirely. Billy _had_ neglected and abused his art, if you looked at it in a certain way. That did not change the fact that he did not believe for a second he had suddenly lost all ability to draw. "Billy, are you sure it's just not how stressed you are? It makes sense that the way you're feeling would affect your art-but that won't last forever Malysh. If you give it time, I'm sure you will be able to draw again."

"I looked online a while ago. Other artists say meth use changes their work-some of them say it make it better, gives them the ability to concentrate on little details for hours, or opens their minds, or crap like that. Some of them say it makes it worse-their hands start to shake, or they move too fast. Can't concentrate. Most of them say it just make it different." Billy was quiet for a long moment, "They're right. It changed it, and I didn't want it to change. Everything I draw that's good now is dark. Angry. Twisted. I don't want it to be like that."

"Billy…you have had a lot of things happen in your life that anyone would be upset about, and for the past few months you've had a lot of reason to feel angry. Maybe it is just your emotions coming out in your art?" Gavriil felt almost as though he were overstepping his bounds here-Billy as his nephew he could understand and relate to, but as much as he respected and admired Billy's talent, he didn't really understand the creative process per say. Give him blue-prints to decipher, or a machine plan to build from, and he was your man, but starting from scratch had never been easy for him. If he was way off track he had no real way to know it. It _sounded _right to him, anyway.

Billy hmmed for a second, mulling over this new idea. As much as he wanted this to be true, he didn't really believe it. Things just weren't that easy for him, they never were.

Yet…if he really was willing to admit it to himself, it wasn't just when he was tweaked that he had drawn things that had bothered him, things that were so different from his usual work, his usual _escape. _After his mother got on him especially bad sometimes, his work would show his anger, his helplessness at it. And when Great-Uncle Lev had died five years ago for months his work had been sad, depressed and hopeless. And eventually it had gotten better…after he quit fighting it, and started to accept that what came out when he put pen to paper, was sometimes just what came out.

"I don't know. Maybe." He said it quietly, unsurely, but it was enough for Gavriil, who made a pleased agreeing noise, and tightened his arms around his nephew for a moment. That seemed to wake Billy up to their exact situation, and he squirmed minutely, opening his mouth in protest.

"Uh, Uncle Gav?"

"Yes?"

"As much as I love you, I think I'm a little old to be sitting in your lap." Gavriil laughed, and let Billy go, pushing his nephew up just a bit to help him stand, accepting the hand offered to him a moment later to pull him to his feet.

"I suppose you're right there." He clapped Billy on the shoulder, "Are you ready to head inside? I think I smell pancakes." He frowned as he realized Billy was staring at the ground around them, looking a little upset again.

"Crap, I trashed my sketchpad!" Billy bent and grabbed it off the ground, groaning to himself. Gavriil bent to help him as he started to un-crumple a few of the scattered pages, taking a handful and smoothing them on his knee, "Could be worse though-this didn't have much of anything in it that I cared about, I nearly grabbed one that has a couple of pieces I really like. Oh, thanks Uncle." He accepted the handful of sketches back, laying them on top of the rest of the stack on top of his sketchpad and stood up again.

"Of course," Gavriil said, relieved that Billy seemed to be staying in his now calm mood, "Got everything?" At Billy's head nod, he started towards the house, "Let's head inside then."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lexi smiled to herself as she flipped over a pancake on the griddle, enjoying both the smell of the fresh apple cinnamon pancakes, and the peace and quiet in the kitchen as she worked. As much as she enjoyed being in the center of the chaos that often surrounded her family, there was also something special about time just to yourself, and the repetitive motion of flipping the pancakes soothed her ordinarily restless body and mind.

The smell of the apple bits frying as they poked out of the pancake batter and sizzled directly on the grill wafted up to Lexi's nose, and she let out a contented sigh, the last of yesterday's tension easing out of her. This was easy, this was good. She had bacon and sausage baking in the oven, and the scrambled eggs were done, sitting in a warmer off to the side. The apple pancakes were a specialty of hers, one of the few things she could honestly say Rick did not cook better. She made them small and thin so that they cooked evenly, and were just a bit crispy around the edges, like flapjacks. Lexi snatched up a small piece of apple that had gotten loose and was turning an inviting golden shade, tossing it about a bit in her hand and blowing on it so as not to burn herself, before popping it into her mouth and smiling in satisfaction. Perfect. Soon people would start waking up, and hopefully a good breakfast would get things off to a better start than yesterday.

As Lexi began moving the finished pancakes into a stack on a nearby plate, she heard the back door open, and frowned to herself, not having heard anyone go outside, and she'd been in here for a while. As she stacked the last one, and turned to pick up the batter bowl from behind her on the kitchen island she paused for a moment, waiting to see who was coming in. She smiled as her father came around the corner with Billy trailing behind him. Her smile faltered a bit as she realized her brother's eyes were red, likely from crying, but not wanting to embarrass him just carried on with greeting them like usual, "Morning Papa, Morning Billy."

Her father gave her a tired, but wide smile, "You made this feast for us all on your own? Such a thoughtful girl." Lexi blushed at what seemed like slightly exuberant praise, but smiled through it.

"I figured, since I was up, might as well be useful." She peeked down at the batter in her bowl, and seeing a skin starting to form on the top, picked up the wooden spoon on the counter stirring it before it could get thicker.

"Well, thank you very much, it all smells delicious."

"No problem. We all got to eat, right?" She smiled up at her father, who reached across the counter and ruffled her hair, since at the moment she had no pigtails for him to tug.

"Very true. Should I go round up the troops?"

"Sure," Alexis said with a shrug, "Nearly everything is ready."

As Gavriil left the room to go wake up the rest of the family, Billy began to set the table without being asked, and Lexi smiled gratefully at him.

"Hey, thanks man."

Billy lifted one shoulder as he pulled a stack of glasses out of a cupboard, "Like you said, might as well be useful." The two worked in silence for a while, Lexi pouring out the batter for another set of pancakes and waiting patiently for them to start to sizzle and cook, occasionally testing the edge of one to see if it was ready to flip, Billy pulling out juice and milk and setting them on the table, making sure there was a napkin at everyone's plate. As Billy moved the warmer holding the eggs to the table, snagging a serving spoon out of a canister on the counter as he went, he spoke up again. "Hey Lexi?"

"Yeah?" She said over her shoulder, in the middle of flipping the pancakes, the griddle hot enough they were cooking at the same speed now.

"I, um, are we cool or are you mad at me? I mean, about everything that's happened."

Lexi froze where she stood, not sure how to respond. Was she mad at her brother? When she'd just found out he'd spent the last four months on a meth binge? That'd he'd been fucking around with it for three years?

Well, no shit she was fucking mad. Her little brother had no business messing with that stupid shit in the first place, he was way too smart to ruin his life like that. Of course she was mad. Not so much at Billy, although she had kind of wanted to smack him when Lily finally told her and Cammy the whole story, but about the whole situation in general.

And when she figured out just what revenge Rick was planning-she _knew_ he was up to something-she had every intention of being involved. It was probably a long shot, but at least she was going to try.

But she hadn't planned to yell at Billy for it, or be anything but supportive. It wasn't her place-she was one of the kids, not one of the adults, and Billy was only just over a year younger than her in the first place.

He was one of her partner's in crime, and Lexi didn't want anything to change that.

She must have been silent for too long, because Billy spoke up again, voice slightly depressed, "It's okay if you are." Lexi turned with a sigh, stepping away from the griddle, the pancakes could wait for a minute, and she'd turned off the oven a bit ago, it was just keeping the meat warm.

"Billy I'm not mad at you, dude." She ran a hand over her tangled hair, struggling with how to say this best. "Don't get me wrong, I think touching meth was really, really stupid. And I don't really get why you didn't tell anyone about Mayfeather-I mean I get that he's a creepy bastard, but we've got some pretty tough ones on our side. And I'd be really disappointed if you did it again, and honestly, that _would _probably make me really mad. I mean, people die or go crazy on that stuff all the time. I can understand how Rick was upset enough to whup your ass when he caught you-and I'm not going to lie and say I think you didn't deserve it, even though I know it must have really, really sucked." Billy was leaned against the table, hands holding onto the edge, listening fairly intently to what Lexi was saying. "But you already got in trouble, and I don't see how my being mad at you is going to do anything but make stuff worse." She shrugged at her brother, who nodded back, looking grateful.

"Thanks."

"No worries." Lexi turned back to the stove just in time, as this batch of pancakes was getting a little crispier around the edges than she usually went for, using the spatula to loosen them and move them over to the waiting plate, as Billy, job all done, set down in one of the chairs to wait.

*.*.*.*.*.*

*.*

*.*

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews I received on the last chapter! Not only were there a ton of them, you guys really took the time to tell me what you liked and didn't like and that is just SO valuable. So thanks again 5-Star, Jnd25, Biery5 and my Guest reviewer. You guys make this so much fun.

A/N I completely forgot, if anyone is interested here is a youtube link for the Lullaby Gavriil sings. watch?v=-978MokOGJQ


	16. Moving Day

A/N: Finally got a chapter out within a reasonable amount of time! *cheers* Thanks very much to those who reviewed the last chapter, Biery5, 5-Star, and my guest reviewer. This chapter gave me some trouble (it was over twelve pages long a week ago, but even writing a little everyday it took me this long to finish it.) Hope you enjoy it.

Also, if anyone is interested I have a short little Harry Potter fanfic I posted a few days ago, check it out :)

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil waited till last to knock on Lynn's door, both because he thought his sister probably hadn't gotten much sleep, and because he wanted to talk to her. He heard rustling, what sounded like someone groaning as they rolled over in bed and felt bad that he had woken her, but also knew she would kill him if he woke everyone else and let her keep sleeping. "Lynnie its Gav. Could I come in and talk for a minute?"

He heard more shifting about, and then Lynn called, "Just a second," and shortly after opened the door, her robe now tied around her. "Morning."

"Morning. Can I come in?" With a hand covering her mouth to stifle a yawn, Lynn stepped back, gesturing for him to come into the room.

"Sure. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Gavriil answered, stepping through the doorway, walking a few paces into the room and turning back to face his sister, who shut the door behind him and leaned back against it, yawning again. "I wanted to talk to you, about a couple of things, but first, I just want to say sorry for being such an ass last night. No matter how angry I was, it was still rude and uncalled for, and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted, as long as you'll take mine." Lynn rolled her eyes at Gavriil's surprised look. "I pushed you and we both know it, you might have been the one to break, but I helped you get there."

"Alright," Gavriil nodded, pleased at how fair Lynn was being, "sounds good to me."

"So what are we talking about?"

"Cammy and Billy, respectively, but Cammy first. I think we should decide just the two of us on her punishment-last night was too stressful on all of us to try and attempt it again." Gavriil said this a bit cautiously, not wanting his sister to be upset that he was criticizing her idea, even in retrospect.

"Last night was a clusterfuck of epic proportions." Lynn shrugged ruefully, moving off the door and over to where her vanity was, pulling out the chair and turning it around, gesturing to Gavriil to sit before moving past him to sit on the padded trunk at the end of her bed. Gavriil sat, chuckling a bit at Lynn's choice in words.

"That sounds like a fairly accurate description to me." The two sat there in silence for all of about thirty seconds, though it felt much longer, neither of them quite sure how to start the conversation.

"Do you ever wonder if we're completely screwing them up?" Lynn hadn't quite meant to ask the question, but once it was out of her mouth she couldn't regret it either.

"Oh yes." Gavriil looked up and met his sister's eyes, "These last few days it's been on my mind almost constantly. Did I handle that right, is following my instinct actually the right move…constantly. But what else are we supposed to do? Give up? Follow some plan out of a parenting magazine? And for all that has happened, it doesn't change the fact that for the most part they're pretty good kids."

"They are, aren't they?" Lynn smiled, although it was a bit sad, leaning back so she was resting against the footboard of her bed.

"Definitely."

"I'm being silly?"

"Just a bit."

"Alright," said Lynn, straightening up and going back into her "business" mode, as Gav often thought of it, "We need to decide what to do about Cammy-I still think a week of restriction isn't punishment enough, but I can see why you think a month is too long."

"I think it sends the wrong message," Gavriil said honestly, "Billy gets three months restriction for smoking meth, and Cammy gets a month for disappearing for three hours? It doesn't seem very fair."

"Ignoring for the moment first, that Billy got a spanking as well, and second, that Cammy is not Billy, and Billy is not Cammy, and that the two incidents have nothing to do with one another, that does make sense. I want her to agree with her punishment so she learns from it, not be focused on feeling resentful." Lynn was nodding along with her own thought process.

"You are seeing what I'm seeing aren't you? That the compromise is ridiculously easy, and we should have thought of it in about two seconds last night." Gavriil had a look on his face that could be best described as amused self-disgust.

Lynn hmmed agreement, "Two weeks. We're idiots."

"Don't let Papa hear you say that-he's on one of his tears, got on me last night."

Lynn looked up at Gav, studying him carefully for a moment, and then shook her head, "What did you say this time, little brother?"

"Never you mind. And I'm less than a year younger than you."

"Yes, but you're still younger." Lynn smiled and Gav made a face, but said nothing more about it, conceding her point. "So you said two things?"

Gavriil grew serious again, folding his hands in his lap as his shoulders slumped just a bit, and Lynn felt her own posture straighten in response to his body language, growing tense, "Billy had a major meltdown this morning-I honestly don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It scared the shit out of me Lynn."

"What happened? Is he alright?" Lynn was trying to keep her voice calm, since her brother was clearly upset-everything was fine her butt-but inside her own heart was speeding up a little bit.

"He _seems _fine now, but he's just-he's so fragile." Then Gavriil shook his head, as though disagreeing with his own words. "No, that's not right, that makes it sound like he's weak, and he's not. I just-I don't even know what to say."

"Alright," Lynn's voice had its command presence front and center, "Start at the beginning, and explain it bit by bit, that should make it easier."

Gavriil nodded-that he could do. "I woke up earlier than I expected-later than usual of course, but still early, and couldn't fall back asleep. The armchair isn't that comfortable."

Lynn broke in here, puzzled, "Why were you sleeping on the armchair instead of the couch?"

"Oh," Gavriil shook his head with a small smile, "around four in the morning Cammy came downstairs. She couldn't sleep, so I sat with her until she did, and then laid her down on the couch. Forgot to wake her up with the others, actually."

Lynn gave him a sympathetic look, "So you've been manning the hatch all night."

"Something like that. Anyway, I headed upstairs, just, because-I suppose I just had an urge to make sure everyone was alright. All the other bedrooms doors were still closed, but the boys' was open, and so I peeked in and Billy was up and sitting at the window seat, with his sketchpad out. We said our good mornings, and he turned towards me-and his neck…he'd been scratching at it and…"

"Gavriil?" Lynn prompted him, "What about Billy's neck?"

"He'd scratched it to the point it was all raw and bloody-was still scratching at it when I walked in-and I said something, maybe just "Your neck," and touched my own…and he pulled his hand away, and when he saw the blood on his fingers Lynn…his face was just terrified. I don't think I've ever seen him look so lost before…"

"Gavriil," Lynn said seriously, "How bad is his neck? Do I need to look at it?"

"I can bandage up small wounds just fine Lynn, I'm not helpless." Lynn just raised an eyebrow at him, and after a moment, "Okay, sorry, it's fine, mostly just superficial. If I'd needed your help with it I would have gotten you Lynn. It's really what happened next that should concern you."

It got worse? Lynn was beginning to feel guilty for "sleeping in". Gav shouldn't have had to take this morning's load all on his own. "Okay, what happened next?"

"Well, I got his neck taken care of, and then he started pretty much begging me for some air, and I could see why, even though his sleep clothes aren't any warmer than mine, all of a sudden he was getting hot and flushed, and I could see the sweat starting to form on his back. So I sent him to grab his sketchbook, he was saying he wanted it and we went out into the backyard."

"You know, I know it doesn't make it any easier for Billy or for us, but him sweating like that is a good thing, really, it'll get all that poison out of his system." Gavriil nodded, he'd already figured that out, but Lynnie was right-it didn't make it any easier to see him suffer like that.

"I had kind of thought that as well, that his body was probably trying to void itself anyway possible." Gavriil bent his head, running his hands through his hair, and then resting his head on them, "We sat for a while-twenty or thirty minutes with Billy sketching, and me doing some research on my phone, and towards the end he seemed to be getting frustrated with what he was drawing, but well, I didn't think much of it-ordinarily if he's having trouble, he just tosses it to the side for a bit, waits or does something else, but…" Gavriil ran his fingers around his temple in a slow circle, head still bent, as though fighting off a headache, "He just started freaking out-screaming, ripping the pages out of his sketchpad and tossing them to the ground, crumpling them and grinding them into the dirt, and god Lynn, his face, and the noise he was making-he was sobbing, but there were no tears, just these deep, guttural cries, like his heart was breaking, or he was dying, and," Gavriil cut himself off here, a short, harsh sob, bursting out of him, leaving his chest against his will, "I don't know what to do. I just don't know what to do."

Lynn was already moving, and knelt in front of her brother, her hands going to where his were on the side of his head, gently moving them away, and tipping up his chin. "It's going to work out Gav. Things will be just fine. We just have to give it time."

Gavriil gave his sister a small, slightly sardonic smile, "That's not something you can promise anyone Lynnie. That's not that way the world works."

Lynn pulled her fingers back just a bit, and gave her brother a light pop on the side of his jaw, "Of course I can. Things will work out, because we will make them work out. We always do."

"What if they don't?" Gavriil's voice was all but begging her to tell him he was wrong.

"They _will_, Gav. They will." Gavriil nodded, taking a deep breath and saying nothing for a long moment.

"Do you think Billy needs treatment? Some of the numbers…a couple different websites quoted that the percentage of people who returned to using after getting clean was in the 90's. And those were people who had treatment, counseling or rehab, or something."

Lynn frowned, "I don't know. As a nurse I've seen people who get clean on their own, some almost ridiculously easily, but of course since those people never enter into treatment programs, there isn't really any data on them. And the majority of people do need help, though not always medical."

Gavriil frowned, "No religious healing crap." Lynn leaned back a little, affronted.

"I'm not Gammy Silt, Gav. I'm not going to assume he's fine after 'accepting Jesus into his heart', or being dunked in a river by some stranger." She crossed her arms over her chest, "You don't have to be mean about it."

"Sorry…" Gav had blurted it out without thinking, but well, the way Lynn leaned on religion sometimes…

"I'm a nurse. Not a fanatic. All I meant was that counseling, whether it's with a medical professional or not, is a good idea. Support groups and things. But I don't like the idea of rehab-just like prison, people are more likely to learn more bad habits, rather than shaking the ones they already have." Lynn was still holding herself stiffly.

"Lynn-I'm _sorry._" Gav was sorry-as much as he had loved Lynn's grandmother, and knew Lynn had as well, her early life with the eccentric old shut-in, when it had been just Lynn and her, was often a sore topic, and well he hadn't meant to bring her up, knew his comment had hit too close to home. He reached out and grabbed his sister's hand from where it had dropped to her side, clutching it in his.

Lynn sighed and let her body relax again. "I know you are. It's okay. Look, I'm fairly good friends with one of the addiction counselors at the hospital. Let me talk to her when I go in tomorrow, and find out what our options are."

"Okay. That sounds good." Gav wasn't really sure quite what to do next, still feeling a bit awkward with the turn the conversation had taken, but held his arm steady when Lynn began to use it to push herself up, obviously having her own idea.

"So, we have a plan of action. I'm going to get my outfit pulled out for the day, and then head downstairs with the rest of you," She shooed her brother towards the bedroom door, and he went in that direction obediently.

Gavriil hesitated before he opened the bedroom door, "Hey, Lynnie?" She poked her head out of her closet to look at him.

"Hmm?"

"After the kids are all dealt with, and everyone's off doing whatever it is they wind up doing, you want to smoke a jay?" Lynn smiled widely at him and he grinned back.

"Oh hell yes."

*.*.*.*.*.*

When Cammy woke up that next morning, one would have expected her to be a bit subdued, a little cautious in her behavior. Yet for some reason she woke up feeling confident. Even a bit cocky.

After all no one was mad at her anymore, so really what she'd done couldn't be too bad. They'd just overreacted a bit the day before…

When Momma Lynn woke her up with a hug, and the notice that she was on two weeks restriction that only seemed to confirm her idea-she'd gotten two weeks for skipping school before.

So when Brent shot her a slightly confused look as she hummed her way over to the breakfast table, a bit of a spring in her step, she didn't even notice. She did notice Rick's eye roll when she snagged a piece of sausage off the platter that he'd been aiming his fork at, but he chuckled at the same time, so she figured they were still good. From what she could tell, things were already as back to normal as they could be under the circumstances. Cammy was basically home free.

If it hadn't been for that pesky bit of cockiness lurking in her otherwise good attitude, she might have stayed that way.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn smiled as she walked in the kitchen and saw her children sat around the table eating-except for Lexi who still stood at the stove, finishing the last of the pancakes, and making a new batch of scrambled eggs. "Lexi love," she said crossing over to the stove and already preparing to take the spatula out of her hands, "Sit down and eat something, you've been cooking all morning."

Lexi shook her head with a grin, moving the spatula away from Lynn, "I've already ate, been eating all morning really, I'm fine." Gavriil who'd walked in a bit after Lynn, paused in the middle of taking his seat at the table, looking over at his daughter, who was expertly pretending that she didn't see the hands that had moved to Lynn's hips.

"Alexis, eating bits of the ingredients, or small bites to test how done it is, doesn't count as breakfast." Gavriil nodded in agreement, speaking up as well.

"A proper breakfast Lexi-at least a serving of everything, and a glass of milk or juice." It wasn't that Lexi was the type to starve herself-but she tended to get so into making sure everyone else had enough, that she was likely to leave nothing for herself if they didn't interfere. And since she _had_ eaten a few bites, she was unlikely to think much of it until she was suddenly starving later in the day. Lexi hesitated in the middle of stirring the scrambled eggs, not really wanting to give up her job.

"Well, give me just a minute, I just need to finish the eggs since Rick and Brent ate like, the whole first batch." She shot a grin over her shoulder at her brothers. Rick just shrugged-he had been hungry-but Brent spoke up in protest.

"Did not! Other people got some, right?" He looked around the table to confirm this, and mostly got shaken heads, "Oh…" Brent blushed as Lexi sniggered, and Lynn took the opportunity to snag the spatula out of Lexi's hand, and bump her gently with her hip to tell her to move over.

"Plate, food, table. Now."

"Okay, okay…" With a bit of a pout Lexi grabbed a plate off the counter and began to head to the table to dish herself up-there was plenty of bacon left, that was something unusual.

"Here, wait," said Lynn, "The eggs are basically done, and I know you don't like them as cooked as the rest of us," she gestured for Lexi to move her plate forward, and she did obligingly-she did like her scrambled eggs still a bit soft, and since no one else did, rarely ate them that way. Momma Lynn gave her a generous scoop, and then shooed her off towards the table, with one last command, "Something to drink too."

*.*.*.*.*.*

Gavriil stood up from the breakfast table, and as he carried his dishes over to the sink and began to rinse them, he said over his shoulder, "Cammy, Rick, I'd like to talk to you in the den for a few minutes when you're done.

Rick knew he shouldn't say anything, felt like he was cursing himself as he did, but he had to ask, "Sure Uncle Gav, about what?" He totally already knew. And Uncle Gav knew he already knew, which just made it even worse.

Gavriil barely refrained from rolling his eyes at his nephew. "About tree bridges, and the climbing of them." The kids who had not known the tree bridge had been discovered by their Uncle suddenly became very interested in their breakfast, not looking up from their plates at all, which probably shouldn't have amused him as much as it did. Lynn on the other hand, was very interested in the conversation.

"What in the world is a tree bridge and why do you have to talk to them about it? Is it dangerous?" Ah. Gavriil probably should have shared this with Lynn already. Well, deflection often worked well with his sister.

"Oh, I haven't seen it yet, but I would imagine so. It's about forty feet high, made from a broken tree, goes over the creek from one side to the other. Cammy, Rick, why don't you fill in your Momma Lynn for me?" Lynn turned towards them with an expression Gavriil imagined would not be out of place on an angry mother bear, and he took the opportunity to escape to the den.

*.*.*.*.*.*

Brent opened his mouth to try and talk, shifting from where he stood at the end of the hallway, only to have the angry man on the other end of the phone cut him off. He did his best to listen patiently to the ranting landlord, knowing that he hadn't kept his end of the deal when it came to the date he was moving in, but if the man would just let him explain…

He tried again, "Mr. Welsch, we've had a family emergency and I-" The older man cut him off again, and Brent, getting frustrated now, balled his hand into a fist at his side as he began to rattle off a list of demands. They'd already taken care of all the paperwork, and he'd been given the key Friday morning. What exactly he was so worried about Brent had no idea. Just as Brent was preparing again to tell him that _yes_, he would be starting to move in that day, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and without really looking, covered the mouthpiece of the phone, and hissed, "What dammit?" over his shoulder, in a decidedly snappy tone.

There was a pause, and then Mister Theo stepped where he could see him, and Brent rather wished he could sink into the floor. "First off, watch your tone, Brent Landon. What if I had been your mother? Second, give me that phone. I was just walking through, but I can hear Marty Welsch yelling at you all the way across the hall, and I'd like to talk to him."

Brent hesitated, not really wanting his grandfather to chew out his already angry landlord, but not accustomed to saying no to Mister Theo. And Mr. Welsch was yelling again, upset that he hadn't received an answer yet, to the question he'd already asked, and had answered, three times. Deciding he'd better do it before he changed his mind and dragged the situation out more, Brent held the phone out for Theo to take. He felt like a child, but he hadn't exactly been making any headway with the situation himself…

"Marty?" Theo spoke into the phone, voice gruffer than usual. "This is Theo Markham, from the convenience store." Theo grunted at whatever Marty said in response, nodding even though the man couldn't see him, "Well, I'm planning to help my grandson finish moving today, but I couldn't help but overhear the two of you having some words." He waited for a second to hear whatever Mr. Welsch said in response, "Well, I'd just hate to move him into a bad situation, you see. I suppose I'm a bit overprotective of my grandchildren, I'm sure you understand." His words were genial and polite, but there was a chord of iron in Theo's voice, and Brent didn't have to imagine that Mr. Welsch was falling all over himself to apologize-he could hear him through the phone.

"Mmm-hmm," Mr. Theo said, suddenly markedly more cheerful, "That sounds just fine to me. I expect we'll be bringing the first load over in a few hours. Mmm-hmm. You have a nice day now." He pressed the end button and handed the phone back to a still reeling Brent. "Well, there now. I expect you'll find him to be a sight more polite in the future." He patted Brent on the shoulder and headed back down the hall calling over his shoulder as he thought of it, "And get yourself ready to go. We'll head over with the first load once everyone is ready."

As Brent watched Theo leave, having resolved in about a minute a problem Brent had been sure would fill his whole morning, he grinned, a broad face covering grin. His granddad was _so _freakin' cool.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"There is nothing wrong with the tree bridge," Cammy said indignantly, cutting off her uncle mid-sentence and making Rick groan quietly under his breath. This was _not_ the time to argue. "I've climbed up it like a bajillion times, and nothing bad has ever happened. And I was like ten the first time!"

Rick sunk back into the couch cushions, muttering, more to himself than anyone else, "Oh god Cammy, _please_ shut up." He was dead. Uncle Gav was going to kill him.

It hadn't been a bad life he supposed. He'd already done a lot of the stuff on the "bucket list" Lily had made him write when they were eighteen. It could have been worse.

The man in question had gone silent with this new information, still and very obviously counting to ten in his head-he always moved his lips just a bit when he did. Rick was definitely, definitely, dead.

On the plus side, it looked like little Miss Big Mouth, might be going with him, since she still hadn't learned to keep her mouth shut, "I've even gone across it really stoned a couple of times, and I was _fine_."

"Okay," said Rick, getting his voice in before his uncle had it scrubbed out, "I did not know about that!" That he had done the same thing far more than a couple of times himself, he just wouldn't mention. He really _hadn't_ known Cammy was.

Gavriil had his eyes closed, and was pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. He stood up abruptly and ground out, "I need a minute to calm down. Neither of you are to move an inch. Make no mistake; I _will _know if you do."

They didn't do more than breathe 'til they were sure Gavriil was well on the other side of the house. Then Rick turned his head calmly to look at his sister, and said with great care, "Cammy?"

She looked towards him expectantly, "Yeah?"

"Next time? Don't tell on yourself!"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Theo appraised the motley crew arranged in front of him, nodding to himself, "Alright, does everyone have everything they need? Cellphones, coats-it's supposed to rain later-something to amuse yourself with, anything else you might want?"

His grandchild dutifully responded with a chorus of, "Yes, Mister Theo," trying not to roll their eyes as he went through a routine that had been a bit more appropriate when their average age was ten, not twenty.

"Everyone's been to the bathroom?"

This was too much for Brent who, with a roll of his eyes, said, "Oh c'mon Mister Theo, we're not five, and it's only about a ten minute drive anyway."

"Do you have any toilet paper packed?" Brent thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Again, has everyone been to the bathroom?"

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lynn looked up in surprise from her crossword as Gav stormed into the kitchen and practically slammed himself into the seat across from her, reading glasses sliding down to the end of her nose. "They giving you that hard of a time?"

Gavriil glared across at his sister, mind still focused on the two frustrating and incorrigible children in the den, "I am about two seconds away from paddling that girl, and Rick isn't far behind! Neither of them has any sense at all!"

Lynn raised an eyebrow-well Gav tended to get stressed out more easily than she did when handling their brats, he didn't often lose his temper enough to yell. "There are still two living kids in the den right? I don't have to plan any funerals?"

"Hah, bloody hah. Very clever, Lynn." Gavriil sulked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, chin propped on his hands. "You'd think they'd know when to stop. When it's obvious I'm about to lose my temper, it's time to stop! Is it really that hard?" He practically whined the last bit to her, and she suppressed a laugh, because honestly, she did get where he was coming from, and it was infuriating.

"See, you have to have a good amount of common sense to know when to stop, and unfortunately, our kids are still developing theirs. Except for Lily, who has far more than all the rest of us combined-possibly more than is good for her," She sent her brother a dry smile and he snorted.

"Oh, thank you. That figures-if one of them has common sense it would somehow backfire anyway."

"So what's happening? Cammy giving you her innocent, I had no idea, act?" Lynn chewed lightly on her pencil end, contemplating number 13 across, "8 letters across, clue is hodgepodge, M is the first letter and S is the second to the last?"

"Hmm…Mishmash? No, I think I would prefer that actually." He considered this for a moment, moving one hand to play with the salt shaker on the table, the other still propping up his chin, "Well, maybe she is. She plainly told me all about the tree bridge-apparently she's been climbing up it since she was ten, and going by the look on Rick's face when she announced it he most certainly know the whole time. Hell, what am I saying, it was probably one of their lessons, of course he knew. _Then _she tells me she's gone across it high! As though it wasn't a big deal at all! And the fact that she was capable of doing so must mean it was safe, not that she was putting herself in even more danger. I'm not sure whether Cammy actually thinks it's not a big deal, and is as perfectly safe as she's saying, or if she's saying it just to try and convince me. And Rick just about died when she said it, tripping all over himself to tell me he had no idea. It's not that I don't believe him either, for some reason I do, but he looked…"

"Guilty?"

"Oh yes." Gavriil shook his head, having lifted it off its perch a few seconds before, now both his hands playing with the salt shaker. "He _sounded _like he was telling the truth, but still looked guilty as all sin."

"Consider who else might have been climbing across this so called bridge stoned?" Lynn trailed off for a moment, and Gavriil nodded after a moment of thought.

"Seems pretty likely-and he does have a habit of not letting the other children do things, and then seeing nothing wrong with doing it himself."

"Hypocrite, thy name is Rick." Lynn said with a sigh and another sip of her coffee, pencil still busy filling in words here and there.

Gavriil chuckled at that, "I just feel like half the time I don't even understand _why _they do the things they do. I mean, what good could come of telling me that? Not that I want to be lied too…"

"But a little common sense and maybe some thoughts of self-preservation would be nice once in a while?"

"Exactly. Lynn…" He trailed off here hesitantly, and Lynn looked up at him, and set her pencil down at the look on his face, giving her brother her full attention.

"What is it?"

"I…I don't quite know how you'll feel about this…but if Cammy doesn't stop with the defiant attitude she's giving me, I think I should whup her. The girl just doesn't think before she speaks half the time, and it is going to get her in serious trouble one of these days. God knows neither of us would have talked to Theo like that at her age, especially less than a day after getting into big trouble-she's already on restriction for two weeks, it doesn't seem to have phased her."

Lynn leaned back in her chair, pulling her reading glasses off her face, and setting them down on top of the paper, her whole body seeming to sigh. "I don't know Gav…it seems we're jumping on a band wagon that most people have been jumping off of, and awfully late in the game at that. How are the kids going to react in the long run? They're nearly grown, is it really going to be effective or just make them feel resentful? And is it appropriate? A few swats is one thing when one of them gets a smart mouth, but…"

"I get where you're coming from, I do. But after these last few days…I feel like the kids are asking us for more structure, to take a little more of the load from grown-up land on our shoulders."

"Grown-up land?" Lynn asked, amused despite herself. "I think we give them plenty of structure Gav. We have family dinners every week, often more than once, and church twice a month, we take them camping and fishing, to visit other family. And our children actually choose to spend the majority of their time with us, or at least each other. I think we're doing pretty good."

"I know they _like_ us Lynn-but do they respect us? Do they feel like they can depend on us, know that we'll follow through? They treat the rules more like useful guidelines half the time and you know it." Gav ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "If we're doing good it's because for the most part their good kids, but it doesn't change what I said, or how I feel."

"Look Gav," Lynn straightened in her chair, looking at him seriously, "I'm not going to veto this-you're their parent as much as I am, if you truly think it's necessary, I won't stand in your way. But I want you to think long and hard little brother, on the precedent you're setting. Rick spanked Billy for what amounts to putting his body in severe jeopardy-he damaged his physical and mental health. What and why are you going to spank them for if you choose to do so? Is disrespect-standard disrespect anyway-really a bad enough offense for that severe a punishment?"

"For goodness sake Lynnie, I'm not going to start smacking them for every little thing." Lynn gave Gavriil an exasperated look at his defensive tone.

"Yes, I know that. That isn't what I meant at all. But think Gav-I'm being serious."

Gavriil sighed, leaning back in his chair, "I am, I am. I suppose disrespect, most of the time no. But it depends on what it's related to. I'm trying to talk to her and Rick about something I disapprove of that they've been doing and she will not listen to me at _all_-outright interrupting me to tell me I'm wrong, it isn't dangerous at all."

"Really?" said Lynn surprised, "She interrupted you? That isn't like Cammy. She generally at least waits to say her piece."

"I'm telling you, that girl is looking for trouble today. I told Theo yesterday-I am beginning to think they are doing this on purpose, taking turns self-destructing, possibly just to drive me crazy." He smiled just a bit to make sure his sister knew he was kidding.

Lynn chuckled, and said, "I'm sure it has far less to do with you than you think."

"Hush-don't spoil my favorite new conspiracy theory." Lynn rolled her eyes at her brother, who just smirked back, finally truly feeling calmer, flipping the salt shaker about in his hands.

"You're getting salt all over the table, Mister Conspiracy Theory." Realizing she was right, Gavriil went to trap the shaker between his palms, intending to set it back by the pepper, but he mistimed it and sent it flying off the table, landing with a bang. As Lynn snorted at the surprised look on his face, Gavriil got up to chase the now rolling salt-shaker across the room.

"If it's broken you're buying me a new one."

"Yeah, yeah," Gavriil muttered good-naturedly as he bent to pick up the salt shaker where it had stopped at the end of the heating vent. He suddenly froze, face transforming into shock, and then to indignation.

"What?" said Lynn not sure whether to be confused or amused, "Did the salt shaker insult you in some way?"

"Shh!" Gavriil leaned closer to the vent for just a second, and then straightened up, annoyance clear on his face as he crossed back to the table setting the salt shaker back in its spot, and leaning down so he could hiss in Lynn's ear, "The little brat is _eavesdropping_ on us." Lynn frowned but before she could say anything Gavriil was marching out of the room. She winced a bit for her youngest, and considered calling Gavriil back until he'd calmed down again, but Cammy had rather brought it on herself…

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lexi grinned from where she sat crammed in the middle of Lily's truck cab. There wasn't really enough room for the five of them, but they'd made it work, Lily driving, her and Brent sharing the middle seat, Brent spilling over into the far right seat where Billy and Mister Theo somehow managed to have enough room to sit comfortably. Or possibly Mister Theo simply didn't mind, or think much about the cramped quarters.

"Hey, Mister Theo, you still have that music on your phone me and Cammy put on there for you?" Lexi practically bounced in her seat when asking this, and Theo nodded his head, an amused, indulgent smile on his face as he looked at Lexi.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, though I'm not sure how to pick a particular song over another, and sometimes I can't get it to turn off when I want too."

"Oh," Lexi frowned briefly at this, "Well if you want we can look at it together later. But for now I wanted to hook it into Lily's speakers, and introduce these guys to Muddy Waters!" Her enthusiasm was back entirely, and Mister Theo, intrigued, pulled out his cell-phone and handed it over.

"You can play it through the truck speakers?" Theo seemed impressed when Lexi nodded from where she was fiddling with some wires that were plugged into Lily's dashboard.

"Yup."

"Well I'll be damned. What'll they think of next?" Theo shook his head and leaned back in his seat, enjoying the idea of getting to listen to his music in a vehicle for once-you didn't really get radio stations that played 30's or 40's music anymore-and he'd always liked the old stuff best, though he had loved the new dancing style that came with the fifties and rock and roll. Well Muddy hadn't really gotten famous 'til his later years his style was what Theo had grown up on, the poor musicians in the cities he roamed that year or two before joining the army doing things with their instruments and electricity that had been years ahead of their time.

"Who's Muddy Waters?" Billy asked, looking at Mister Theo. Before he had a chance to answer Brent cut in, looking at Lexi suspiciously.

"This isn't any of your weird techno crap is it?" Lexi gave him a slightly frustrated look, all but rolling her eyes.

"Why would me and Cammy put techno on Mister Theo's phone? Why would he be _happy_ we'd put it on there if we did?" Brent had to shrug at this, cocking his head to the side as though trying to think of a reason. "It's _blues_, dumbass."

Brent scowled and opened his mouth to retort, but Theo, who knew once they got started they wouldn't stop, spoke up, simply and to the point. "That's enough of that, you two. Just play the song please Lexi." Lexi shrugged and pressed play, and Theo leaned back tapping the heel of his hand on the door to the beat as "She's 19 Years Old," began to pour out of the speakers. They listened quietly for a minute, Billy and Lexi both seeming to be just as into it as Theo, but Brent began to develop the strangest look on his face about two minutes into the song. Finally he could hold back what was longing to pop out of his mouth no longer.

"Dude, old music is _dirty."_ The statement was only made funnier by the confused, slightly disgusted look on Brent's face, and Billy and Alexis both lost it, making Brent pout at them, Theo shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

"It's not exactly The Bloodhound Gang, Brent," said Lily, an amused twist to her voice. Her brother killed her sometimes.

"Well yeah, but I don't know-somehow the way they say it sounds dirty, even if the words aren't." Brent still had a look on his face that indicated his world view had been fundamentally shifted, "I thought everything had to be all PG back then."

Theo laughed and shook his head, "It's all about subtlety and how you say what you say. So much music today just out and says things in the simplest terms possible-all asses getting fucked, and whatnot," Everyone in the car just kind of froze as this came out of Mister Theo's mouth, doing their best not to laugh hysterically and slightly uncomfortably. Lily jerked the car straight from where it had drifted just a bit as she had stared dumbfounded at her Grandfather. Had he _really _just said that? _Really?_ "It's all crude, don't know what happened to grace and charm, or even being lyrical. Muddy Waters had more talent in his little finger than any of the rappers you kids listen to nowadays." Theo scowled to himself, "It's no wonder so many young men and women have no idea how to go about courting properly with the examples they have. Think it's normal to go around hot to trot with everyone they see, because it's what all the famous people do. "

"Um, yeah," said Billy, not sure whether to be horrified or amused, exchanging looks with the other kids, who seemed to be about where he was, "That makes sense…"

Everyone was very, very glad when they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Get away from the grate!" Rick hissed at Cammy, who had gotten up from the couch and had her ear pressed to the heating vent in the floor.

"Shh!" She waved a hand over her shoulder at Rick, "I'm trying to hear."

"Trying to get your butt kicked more like. Sit down!" Rick, who had a good idea of just what his Uncle would do if they weren't were they were supposed to be, was still glued to his seat, but was considering getting up and dragging Cammy back to sit next to him, even if the crutch would make it awkward. It was in her best interest after all.

"I think-I think they're talking crap about us," said Cammy, sounding more amused than upset. "They are!" She laughed a bit, and leaned her head down lower trying to hear better.

"You're going to get caught, and Uncle Gav is going to be so pissed." Rick shook his head, this was beyond risky.

"I am not, I have ninja skills."

"You do not, I repeat, do not have ninja skills!" Rick was growling by now, "WHY do you and Lexi keep saying that!?"

"It's an inside joke." Cammy shifted over the grate, turning so her other ear was pressed to it.

"It makes no sense to anyone but you two."

"That's kind of the whole point of an inside joke," Cammy stood up, giving her brother a look that questioned his ability to breathe and stand upright at the same time, "Now shut-up, he's coming," She hurried back to her spot on the couch and settled herself smoothly, so that Rick knew their Uncle Gav would never know.

Kid got away with _everything._

Which was why when Uncle Gav walked in, looked right at Cammy, and said, "Miss, what did I tell you about moving?" Rick nearly crowed in delight. He did not _actually_ crow in delight, that would have been mean, but he came very, very close.

Cammy sank back into the cushions behind her as far as she could, her earlier cockiness forgotten, at least for the moment. "Umm, not to move?"

"That's right. And what did you do?" Uncle Gav looked seriously at Cammy whose blush would have given her away, even if he hadn't already known.

"I moved." The girl whispered, cheeks flaming, feeling thoroughly ashamed at the juvenile way her uncle was questioning her, as though she were a small child who had to have everything reasoned out for her.

"Yes, you moved. You deliberately disobeyed me. What else did you do?" Gavriil had his arms crossed across his chest now, looking so stern Cammy didn't even consider lying.

"I eavesdropped."

"You eavesdropped. That was disrespectful, Camille." Cammy nodded her head, tears brimming in her eyes. She didn't know what was wrong with her. God, she just kept fucking everything up!

"M'sorry." She whispered it, not able to meet her uncle's eye, and Gavriil sighed, all the heat going out of him at how miserable she sounded.

"Apology accepted, this time. If I catch you doing something like that again you will be in big trouble, you hear?"

"Yes sir."

"Think next time-if you can hear me from the kitchen through the grate in here, don't you think I can hear you?" Gavriil still had his arms crossed, but he was definitely more exasperated than angry now.

Cammy looked at her uncle in puzzlement for a moment, before indignation began to slowly show on her face, and Rick felt himself wince in anticipatory sympathy. If Cammy kept going the way she had been she was in for a world of trouble. "You mean-you were eavesdropping on us too? That's not fair! You can't get mad at me for something you were doing too! That's bullshit!"

Forget his own funeral-Rick would soon be attending his little sisters. He didn't think he'd ever seen his Uncle go that particular shade of red.

Gavriil took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, before speaking in a tightly controlled voice, stepping himself from yelling mainly by force of will. "I was _not_ eavesdropping on you-I dropped the saltshaker and when I bent down I distinctly heard your voice saying that we were, and I quote 'talking crap about us."

Cammy sunk even deeper into the coach then she had when Gavriil's face had first turned that rather alarming shade of red. Oh god. Why did she have to say that out loud? There _was _something wrong with her. At least uncle's face wasn't quite so angry now…Cammy sat pinned as Gavriil stared at her intently, making her feel a bit like a bug under a magnifying glass. After what seemed to be a long period of time, although really for all she knew it could have been either ten seconds or ten minutes, she wouldn't argue either way, Gav seemed to come to some kind of a decision. "Rick, could you step out into the hallway for a few minutes please? I need to talk to Camille alone."

Full first name. For the second time that morning. Cammy was fairly certain she could count the number of times Uncle Gav had called her that on just her fingers. Not good. She gulped, and sent a pleading look at Rick, who took the time to squeeze her hand as he gathered his crutch and stood, but merely murmured an "of course" to their uncle as he limped out of the room.

Cammy looked back at Gavriil, who was looking steadily at her, face still quiet severe. She gathered up her courage, and just blurted out the one thing she thought might save her. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say it, I swear, I just blurted it out without thinking. I'm sorry!"

Gavriil sighed and shook his head, face still set in stern lines, but not quite as severe as a moment ago. Disappointed instead of angry. "You, young lady, seem to have developed a habit of speaking and acting without thinking. First running off yesterday, and now this? I'm not going to tolerate that kind of disrespect Cammy, either the eavesdropping or the way you spoke to me just now. The fact that you didn't think before you said it makes it worse, not better. This is far from the first time you've been talked to about that, and I for one have had enough," Gavriil closed the distance between them and took hold of Cammy's arm with a surprising amount of gentleness for his demeanor, pulling her to her feet. Cammy didn't protest, she wasn't quite sure what was going on, thinking that he was going to perhaps stick her in a corner-it hadn't happened in a few years, but she'd had a few time-outs for acting or speaking without thinking before-and it didn't seem like it would be very smart to do anything but exactly what Uncle Gav wanted for the immediate future.

That resolution went out the window as soon Uncle Gav sat down where she had been, his hand having slid down her arm to her wrist, now tugging her forward and over. Cammy, abruptly realizing what was happening, began to pull herself backwards, shaking her head almost frantically, "Nooo…you can't…"

Gavriil felt his heart tug at the distress in Cammy's voice, but he had decided on what was the most appropriate course of action, and wasn't about to change his mind anytime soon, "I can, and what's more I am," and pulled her the rest of the way over his lap. "You need to remember to think before you speak, and this should help you with that." Cammy let out a little distressed noise and tried to push herself up, but she knew it was more than a futile effort, and when her uncle wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her snug, she gave up entirely, settling for burying her face in her hands instead. This was _so _embarrassing…

Gavriil brought his hand down in a brisk, solid, stingy, but not particularly hard swat, part of him still reluctant to actually do this, and Cammy let out a little yelp. It was quickly followed by a series of slightly harder slaps, his large hand easily covering most of her rear with each one, and Cammy bit her lip as a sting started to build. This wasn't quite as bad as she had thought it would be-the swats Mister Theo had given her in the woods had been quite a bit harder than this, but Uncle Gav just _wasn't_ stopping.

And her butt _hurt._

Gavriil felt his heart breaking a little as he kept raising his hand and swatting his _baby_, but knew he couldn't stop yet. A token punishment was in a way worse than none at all. Cammy was beginning to squirm a little now, and wanting to finish soon he stepped up his pace a bit, raising his hand higher, and bringing it down faster rather than using any more of his strength. Cammy, suddenly realizing it was starting to hurt far more than she had expected after the first few swats, flung a hand back and tried to block him. Gavriil cursed in his head as his hand nearly came down on her wrist, freezing his movements, "Cammy I need you to move your hand, I don't want to hurt you."

Something in the girl in question seemed to break as she wailed out, "You are hurting me! You're hurting me right now!" With a sigh, and silent reprimand to himself for poor choice of words, Gavriil gently gathered up her hand and moved it to the small of her back, and decided he needed to finish this quickly, for both their sakes. He raised his hand and brought it down again harder than he had yet, another dozen times, Cammy sobbing like she was heartbroken the whole time. The second he was done he turned her over in his arms, cuddling her to his chest, relieved when she pushed her face into the base of his neck.

"Shh, shh, honey, it's all okay now. You're forgiven, it's okay, Uncle Gav has you bushka, I have you," He rocked back and forth, near tears himself as his little girl's sobs rang in his ears.

"You-hurt-me…!" Cammy could barely get the words out she was crying so hard, but the shocked accusation in her voice had an apology on the edge of Gav's lips, almost before he thought about it. But something stopped him. As much as he had hated that, and as bad as he felt…he didn't think he'd done the wrong thing. He'd had to put his foot down, some things he wouldn't tolerate, and Cammy could get a lot worse than a sore butt if she kept acting without thinking, just doing whatever popped into her head. He did however have to say something.

"I wish I hadn't had to-I hated that, Bushka. Please don't make me do that again honey; please, please don't." It was not perhaps the best worded answer-part of Gavriil wasn't entirely sure it made sense in the strictest meaning of the words; Cammy hadn't actually _made _him do anything. But as his niece flung her arms around his neck, blubbering promises that she wouldn't as her sobs slowly calmed, that nothing like this would ever happen again, Gavriil thought it had been the right thing to say regardless.

*.*.*.*.*.*


End file.
